Time in A Rose for Emily Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Time in A Rose for Emily - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Time plays a very palpable role in William Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Through Faulkner’s approach, not only do readers get a glimpse of the old South of the 1800s, but they are given an idea of the story’s early 1900s present through the voice of the narrator(s). However, even in dealing with aspects of the past, Faulkner shows that time can and will affect changes however much they might be shunned or ignored by those trapped within its domain. Throughout â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† readers experience the rigidity of the past, the flexible nature of the present and the battle constantly fought between them. By utilizing several of the older characters in the story as symbols, Faulkner demonstrates the unchanging and unchangeable nature of the past through the actions of these characters. Standing out as the prime example for his case is Miss Emily Grierson herself, as inflexible and unchanging as possible. Miss Emily’s inflexibility is demonstrated in several instances, most notably when she insists the Aldermen speak with Colonel Sartoris regarding the question of her taxes when â€Å"Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years† and when she refused to acknowledge her father’s change of state upon his death. â€Å"Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body†