A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

Arnaldo Dos Santos
ENGL 1102
Prof. Kiran Toor
June 4th, 2012
Resistance to Change in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
Change is unavoidable, it can happen to anyone, at anytime, even ifyou refuse to accept it, there will always be a change throughout your life. In the story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, we can observe a fundamental element which makes the story differentthan others; this element can be known as resistance to change, which will be the topic to be discussed throughout this essay.
Before developing the essay, it is important to understand the meaning ofresistance to change, which is defined as “The act of opposing or struggling with modifications or transformations that alter the status quo in the workplace.” (Heathfield) As we can see, thedefinition is targeted to the workplace, but it is also something that many people encounter in any situation, like the one Emily faces, where as the years go by, she is still trapped in the past living an oldfashioned way of life.
The sequence of the facts is not as usual and it is developed without any specific order. The story does not come as a continuous narrative; it starts with the explanation ofEmily dying, and finishes with her death. The author is trying to communicate how in disorder Emily’s life is, and wants to emphasize on her death, making it the most important part of the narrative,which is why he starts the story with her death. It is also important to point out that the hidden message the writer wants to show the readers, besides the topic of death, it is also the topic ofchange.
Throughout the story, the resistance to change is clearly seen by the various situations that are visible to the readers, such as not paying taxes "I have no taxes in Jefferson, Colonel Sartorisexplained it to me, perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves" (Faulkner, 10) or refusing to get postal numbers on her house or even changing the sheets on her...