Transition Into The New South Analysis

The Transition Into the New South Most all short story authors use one central idea, or theme, throughout their stories to make the story flow and influence the characters actions. In Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, the theme of a work is defined as “… not its subject but its central idea which may be stated directly or indirectly” (Cuddon 969). Some themes might be difficult for a reader to recognize; however, because most themes are the author’s muse, or inspiration for the whole story, the reader can detect these themes immediately. Some authors, like the legendary William Faulkner, use a common theme throughout the majority of their short stories. Because of Faulkner’s experiences living in the Old South, he often compares the themes of the Old South to show the stark contrast of the new generation of Southerners and
Throughout “A Rose For Emily,” she struggles against the pressures of time and change, as if she is in denial of the new era. A prime example is in the opening lines of the story when the narrator tells us, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor […] remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity” (Faulkner 221). When the new generation comes with new ideas, the new city authorities do not agree with this arrangement. They write, call and even visit Emily, yet she refuses to pay her taxes because according to her, she has no taxes in Jefferson (221). In Jefferson, she is the last person alive from the old south era, and since she was isolated her whole life by her father, she retained all of the beliefs from that period. Her way of life is set in the Old South, and although the people in her community do not fully understand or agree, they are never successful at changing her