The difficulty of change becomes a focal point in William Faulkner's
short story, "A Rose for Emily." Faulkner conveys dark moods and elements
of surprise in a seemingly simple story about an eccentric old lady who
refuses to let go of the past. The story of Emily becomes a testament to
the difficulty one encounters when faced with change. Faulkner combines
imagery, symbolism, and language to illustrate the vast difference between
the Old South that Emily lived in and the new emerging traditions following
Faulkner utilizes the techniques of imagery to draw attention to the
difference that exists between the past and the present in Emily. For
example, very early in the story we are told that the men in town attended
her funeral "through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument"
(Faulkner 451). This image reminds represents how Emily served as a type
of monument to the old traditions that belonged to the south before the
Emily's house is also used as a symbol that represents a contrast
between the past and the present. Many images embody death and decay. The
narrator tells us that the house was once white but now tells us it smells
of "dust and disuse--a close, dank smell" (452). In addition, many years
ago the house was on the "most select street" (452), but now it is
surrounded "garages and cotton gins" (452). The narrator even goes as far
as to say the house is an "eyesore among eyesores" (452). Emily's house,
where she spends most of her secluded life, is a symbol of how things used
to be in Emily's world as well as a foreshadowing of things to come.
In addition to the physical description of her house, Faulkner uses the
color gray as a symbol of death when describing Emily. As we are told
about Emily's appearance over they years, her hair become more and more
gray until the narrator describes it as an "even pepper-and-salt iron-gray
when it ceased...