Two generations do not seem like much of a big deal. To the common man or woman with children, it’s been this way for as long as we have known. However, in between our generational patterns, it seems as though some essential things have been lost. The way men treat women, and vice versa. A certain mutual respect has been forgotten and replaced with an ill-mannered temperament. This vastly shows in, “A Rose for Emily.” Emily’s authoritarian father and his disappearing presence cause Emily to catch up with the rest of society unwillingly; a society of rapidly changing views directed mainly at women. The Old South seemed to have found these things, and the upcoming generations would misplace them, as it seems, indefinitely. This is seen throughout the text in this short story.
The Old South admired women. They looked at them as if they were Goddesses. Men respected women in a sacred way. We see this at Emily’s funeral. The men showed a respectful fondness for a fallen monument. That monument would be the memory of the Old South’s distinction prior to the Civil War. Colonel Sartoris abrogated Emily’s taxes after the death of her father as his way of showing respect. Sartoris knew that Emily had been left alone. Emily, like many other thriving and muscular families in the Old South, wanted to safeguard her family heritage. Southern men with their etiquette handled these women as if they were glass. They treated them as if they were extremely fragile. These men went above and beyond to accommodate women such as Emily’s statute. Emily was lonely, and Colonel Sartoris saw that the men in the community should come together and figure out how to take care of her. The Old South also respected the fact that Emily wanted to be left alone.
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The New South wasn’t what Emily was accustomed to. The Board of Aldermen didn’t comprehend the same level of thinking that Colonel Sartoris did. They didn’t care what Emily’s father contributed to the town, much less Emily wanting to be left alone to wither away. The Civil War impacted the Southern way of life for almost everyone. The New South had their sights set on progressing and moving forward. Without the existence of the slave population, last names and official titles did not come to matter to the New South. Mail service and sidewalks made of concrete paved the way for new things to come. Homer Barron is a great example in the fact that he represents this change. Townspeople were not willing to accept Homer because of his status in society. In the same way, they were having a problem adapting to the New South. This new generation even went as far as to criticize Emily for some of her mannerisms and attitude.
The Old and New South were as simple to distinguish as light and day. Life before the Civil War just wanted to be held onto. Life after the Civil War just wasn’t what it used to be. Emily got to experience both generational cues and mishaps. A beautiful rose at the beginning, only to end up completely and utterly wilted by society. Emily and the Old South fell as prisoners to a contemporary system.
Works Cited
- Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed.
- Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. 79-84. Print.
- Matthews, J. (2011). Faulkner, William (1897-1962). [online] Literati.credoreference.com. Available at: http://literati.credoreference.com/content/topic/faulkner_william_1897_1962?searchId=0839d8aa-05a9-11e7-8167-12c1f5c39a71 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017].
- SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on A Rose for Emily.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 24 Jan. 2020.
- Rewis, Dana. “Journal: A Rose for Emily.” LiveJournal, 5 Jan. 2012.
- Madden, David. 'A Rose for Emily.' Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition, January 2004, pp. 1-3.
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Evaluation Essay: Review on ‘A Rose for Emily’.
(2024, January 30). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/evaluation-essay-review-on-a-rose-for-emily/
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Evaluation Essay: Review on ‘A Rose for Emily’. [online].
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Evaluation Essay: Review on ‘A Rose for Emily’ [Internet]. Edubirdie.
2024 Jan 30 [cited 2024 Nov 21].
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