An Essay for Emily

            
             "A Rose for Emily" by Willam Falkner is a short story about the life of a woman named Emily. The story is told through the eyes of a narrator attending Emily's funeral and is told in such a way that it unfolds like a rose, slowly losing its petals. Emily's blind eye to current events, refusal to accept change, and disassociation with the younger generation demonstrates her refusal to accept and adapt to the present.
             Emily throws a blind eye to the present, refusing to accept the notion that things around her have changed with time or that things change with time. This is demonstrated when Emily's taxes are remitted as a favor to her father in a private deal with Colonel Sartoris. When confronted many years later about unpaid taxes by the new township she insisted that she was exempt from the taxes, assuming that nothing had changed in decades. Emily also guarded her fathers corpse for three days, refusing to believe he was dead.
             Emily refuses to accept change in her life. When Homer Barron told her that he was leaving, she plotted to kill him, ensuring that he would never leave. A quick visit to the chemist to buy some arsenic gave her the means to do this. She later refuses to accept the fact that she killed him. Proof of this lies is seen when her hair was found by Homer's assumed corpse. She shuts off the top floor of her house, in order to forget what was up there.
             Emily closes herself off to the younger generation, refusing to acknowledge their existence. This takes place after Emily stops her painting instruction, as the children of the town stop attending her lessons. This embitters Emily, who then withdraws into the house and refuses to associate with anyone but her personal manservant. When Emily is later confronted, instead of dealing with her younger guests personally she has her manservant do it for her.
             As she ages, Emily slowly shuts out the outside world out in favor of her own version of reality.