A Rose For Emily

            
             Throughout the story "A Rose For Emily" William Faulkner uses different people, places, and things to validate his continuous southern themes. Faulkner's themes are that nobody shall control our lives except ourselves and that traditions are difficult to change and let go of. .
             "A Rose for Emily" communicates that when we let other people control our lives we can end up very lonely and sad. There are two things that happen as a result of this concept. The first thing that can occur is a loss of one's self and value. The second thing that occurs is that the controlling factor will gain a sense of power and will eventually want to control you entire life if you let them. This kind of domination can occur in our lives at anytime; it could happen between friends, husband and wife, siblings, and a parent and child. As in Emily's case, a child does not willing give up their freedom of choice to their parents but rather it is taken when they are young. This happens because when children are young they need the guidance of their parents wisdom and knowledge. They are not fully capable of making certain decisions and need to have these made for them in conjunction with their age. However, many children when never given a choice do not realize they even have this power. This occurs when the parent abuses their power and continues to make decisions for their child, controlling their lives even into adulthood. .
             As this story is a play on past and present, the past which Emily refused to let go of was a complete contradiction of what was happening as a result of post Civil War. The Chivalric Code because contaminated with sexism and racism. Because this story uses past and present as a theme to represent much of Emily's life story the reader is shown the changes that are taking place even in town. For example, when the town receives a free mail service Emily refuses to have them install the numbers on the outside of her house.