Emily By William Faulkner: How Individuals Respond To Change

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How do individuals respond to change? Change is something everyone encounters through the course of our lives; however one may choose to resort to denial. In the short story “A rose for Emily”, William Faulkner demonstrates how individuals may refuse to accept change through the character of Miss Emily. Although individuals may choose to counteract changes that may disturb their original lives; however, they will find themselves isolated under societal pressure. Some people are unwilling to change even though the change might be for good. Through the character of Miss Emily, we see a young woman violated by her father’s strict mentality. When he dies, Emily is left alone and as the only man in her life, Emily is in denial to let go of her father, even though he is a controlling and selfish man. Thus she holds on to her father’s dead body and acts as if nothing happened; Emily “dressed as…show more content…
This explains Miss Emily’s house being the only one left in the neighborhood, “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay” (1). She fancies her childhood ‘till death. * Emily also refuses to let go of Homer Barron, a treat that she was never allowed to have. When she discovers that her sweetheart went away, she decides to purchase poison and as everyone thought she was going to kill herself, we find Homer’s dead body lying on her bed, which has been for years. This is where we learn that Emily would rather kill Barron than to let him go. The ones who refuse to change with society will almost always find themselves in isolation. * Miss Emily involuntarily and voluntarily isolates herself * When she was under the strict rule of her father, she was forbidden to go out and thus being isolated from society has been a tradition. * As time went on pieces from Emily started to drift away and she follows the path of her

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