Isolation In A Rose For Emily

The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is set in the small southern town of Jefferson. The story reveals the peculiar and bizarre events of Miss Emily Grierson’s life. Miss Emily, a supposed monument in the town, lives an unusual life. She comes from a well-respected family and is the last Grierson of her town. The mysterious Miss Emily embodies the Old South. Miss Emily holds onto the ways of the Old South and cannot come to terms with the New South. Miss Emily’s resistance to change her pitiful ways and the narration of the story show how Emily is isolated from the rest of the community. Miss Emily Grierson is without a doubt a product of Old Southern upbringing. She is stuck in the old ways of the South and refuses to move on. She does
When the city authorities come to tell her that she can no longer be remitted from her taxes, she sends them off by saying, "See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson" (35). Emily continues to insist on an agreement she had with Colonel Sartoris remitting her from paying her taxes, even after the Colonel has been dead for ten years. The people in this small town put her on a pedestal instead of throwing her in jail where she actually belongs. The loneliness of Miss Emily is what makes the town pity her, and is also what makes the town see her as an innocent old lady. The people hold her to high standards, though those standards no longer exist. The folks in town, are unknowingly manipulated, and have become the accessories to Miss Emily’s immoral behavior. When Miss Emily