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Progression Vs Tradition Viewpoints

Introduction

A Rose for Emily is a story told by William Faulkner. The setting of the story occurred

in the southern town located in Mississippi between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. a lot

of things that happen in current times could not have been rightfully accepted back in then.

For instance, during the 1800s and 19000s, it was entirely considered obnoxious and insane

to any woman to get pregnant out of wedlock, or find two gay couples living happily ever

after. The author has used several themes, plot twists, archetypes and even grammar to bring

the story of Emily and her town to light. One of the themes that stands out in the story is that

of tradition and progression. The author outlines a divisive camp of citizen, the older

generation which is upholds and respects the old traditions of the old south and the younger

generation of citizens focused on progression and changing narratives of the past.

William Faulkner depicts Emily one of the main archetypes in the story as one that

leads her life and style in the same exact way from the beginning to the end of the story. The

author uses this approach to tell the reader about the life and practices embraced by Emily

and the townspeople. Even though the storyline alternates between different eras, the author

depicts the fact that Emily’s life and style remain unchanged and unaltered. Even after the

death of her father Emily was adamant that her father was not dead despite the condolences

of the townspeople. The author notes that Emily refused with her father’s dead body for three
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days, forcing the people to use law and force, but before that happened the townspeople

hurriedly buried her father (Faulkner 518). The author used such grammar and architype

perhaps to illustrate that Emily did not want to let go of her father because her father held

significant part of her past. Holding unto her father’s body might have been a symbol used by

the author to show that it was one of the things that fit perfectly into Emily’s traditional life.

Losing her father meant that she had to change and adapt to new changes and this is

something that did not sit well with Emily.

In accordance with the aristocratic system, the father, in a southern family holds

significant domination over his family. A father is a symbol of supreme power in the family.

Growing up under the protection and shadow of her father, Emily chances of responding to

her surrounding are eliminated naturally. Even though the northern industrialization

seemingly penetrates through the south. The author used Emily’s character to show how her

inherited southern autocracy prevented her from accepting and taking up the new order of

life. Emily does not accept change, the passing of time and the loss she faced after losing her

father. All these symbolized the fact that Emily does not cooperate and accept modernization

in the town’s postal service “paper of an archaic shape in a then flowing calligraphy in faded

ink” (Faulkner 434). The character’s refusal to adapt to the new way of life made her to

experience bitterness and loneliness.

Emily’s character is strongly controlled and influenced by her father. Her despotic

and selfish father never allows Emily to enjoy her womanhood. In fact the townspeople

portrays Emily as a tool for decoration by her family, “alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition,

a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town,” (Faulkner 433). When

Emily died the whole town attended her funeral and the men regarded her a s fallen

monument (Faulkner 433). According to the townspeople her death symbolized the old times.

The author purposely used Emily’s death as a symbol that depicted the fall and end of the old
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traditions and breakthrough of the new traditions, particularly by the youth generation. In the

novel, the author purposely sets the character of Emily as a monument that symbolized old

traditions led by Emily. Even in death, Emily is not perceived a s human being with real

insides or feelings, instead she is seen as a fallen monument that was a representation of past

ideals and traditions.

Throughout the novel, Emily is a constant symbol of change. Nevertheless, the

townspeople her reputation and value more than they do to her feelings and hurt she endures

and goes through as a woman in the aristocratic society. Later in the novel, the author reveals

that none of the men seemed good enough for Emily (Faulkner 11). This brings up the

societal view od women regarding their intimate relationships. The townspeople deemed it

weird and odd for Emily, a thirty-year old to have no kids and a husband. During this era,

women in the society were expected to have settled down in their mid -20s. therefore Emily’s

inability to have kids and a husband at her age seemed to go against the society’s old

traditions set on women. Faulkner’ use of grammar and Emily’s characters outlines the fact

that rules and cultural traditions are broken and changed at some point. The author does not

use her character to highlight a woman who does not want a family, but as one who wants

things done according to her terms. Emily is an architype who wants things done her own

way even if it means breaking the traditions that existed prior to her father’s passing on.

The title of the novel and the grammar employed by the author depicts the tradition vs

change theme. Traditionally, it would be absurd for the people to applaud Emily for killing

Homer, let alone receive a rose for that matter. However, the author looks deeper and

explores the reason behind the killing of Homer and getting a deserving end, with a rose. The

rose is figuratively used by Faulkner to imply the final recognition of Emily’s character as a

human being. Indeed, she is humanized through the title of the novel, A Rose for Emily.
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Conclusion

As mentioned previously, Emily was an epitome of change in several ways. For

instance, her death was marked as the onset of new traditions as she had been laid with her

old traditions. Several gradual changes took place in the south with the invasion of

industrialization from the northerners. Despite this, the southerners still held dear their

traditional yet outdated ways of thoughts. Just like Emily, a lot of the southerners remain

loyal to their old ways of lives. Because of the old traditions, Emily remains a victim of

womanhood, whereby women in the south remained in a miserable position. Such an old way

of life, the author notes caused massive bias against women like Emily. The southern women

were required to be submissive and extremely obedient as per their traditions. The inability to

take u new ways of life ensured that the women remained behind economically, socially and

even politically.