The Deconstruction of the Past, Research Paper Example

In the history of human civilisation, there were numerous conflicts and confrontations. People used to fight for their religious, cultural and political beliefs. Some conflicts are conditioned by the human inability to understand one another, while the others are due to the natural order to life and death. One of the examples of natural conflict is a clash between old traditions and new realities. This clash is universal irrespective of cultural, social or political framework. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to analyse the main theme of William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”: the deconstruction of the past facing a contemporary reality. The main theme is analysed in terms of various literary elements such as main twists of the plot, main motifs and symbols.

The author’s primary means of showing the main theme is through various plot twists and main characters behaviour. In this regard, the awkwardness of Emily’s actions and their weird perception by the rest of the community create the impression of alienation and the lack of belonging. Although under different circumstances, in a different epoch, Emily’s and her father actions and perception of themselves above the rest of the community could be viewed as sign of refined aristocratic manners and dignity, in the Southern community they lived in, they were viewed as a relic of the old days. In other words, in their moral code and traditional aristocratic values, they were looking towards the past, while the rest of the community was evolving together with the rest of the world.

In order to emphasise the severity of the time and value gap between Emily and the rest of the community, Faulkner uses different actions that are interpreted in different ways by two sides. For instance, Emily is reluctant to place iron numbers on her house thinking it is ridiculous, while officials explain it is crucial for administrative reasons. She did not see any duty to pay taxes, because she did not know the contemporary political and fiscal system. These examples create the atmosphere of misunderstanding and distancing of the past embodied in Emily from the rest of the world.

Furthermore, the theme of deconstruction of the past is shown through various motifs like dust and destructive power of death. In this regard, dust is felt almost in everything related to Emily. It is on her faded clothes; it covers her house that just as his owner is gradually losing its old-fashioned charm. The impression of dust as a companion of decay and past was the most vivid when it was contrasted by life images. This was well presented in a scene when the local officials came to see Emily to convince her to pay taxes. When they entered the living room, they saw the old furniture and a leather couch all covered in dust. Describing the interior with the eyes of modern people, Faulkner makes the impression of decay of the past even more striking. The people he described live in the modern world of precision and tidiness. In this world, a rotten corps or relics of the past had no place.

The motif of death is felt everywhere from Emily’s unnatural appearance to her alienation in her house. Faulkner creates an impression of living corps being hidden in her grave – her house. In this regard, deconstruction of the past just as the death of a person starts with a decay and destruction of the vessel – human body and physical object carrying the imprint of the past. Another example of unnatural appearance and inconsistency between life and death is the description of Emily’s appearance. Although she is described to have a full-bodied and strong figure, and a full round face, her appearance does not represent health or life, because her eyes reflect nothing but emptiness and darkness of one’s grave. Being a mirror of one’s soul, her eyes show her unnatural core –being dead in seemingly alive body. Her body serves as another cage. In this regard, by showing how Emily and things around her are aged and decayed yet do not change with time, Faulkner manages to show how past is being encapsulated in objects and cannot evolve any further but to be destroyed and die in the present.

Deconstruction of the past facing the contemporary reality is further strengthened by symbols outlined in the short story. The dead body of Emily’s lover is a symbol of the inability of the past to be replicated in the present and vice versa. In other words, although Emily’s affair with Homer was an opportunity for her to change herself and adapt to the new requirements of the surrounding modern environment, she was incapable of changing entirely. Instead, she transformed Homer to a resemblance of herself. However, since the contemporary reality or a single aspect of it cannot be changed according to the tradition and remain unchanged in that shape, Homer had to be made like Emily. He had to become dead like her in order to stay with her. In this regard, the main message is that the tradition that does not want to evolve with the rest of the world is doomed to die and take everyone who tries to follow it unconditionally. Thus, living the past, kills the future.

Overall, from all mentioned above it can be concluded that Faulkner managed to reflect the primary theme of the deconstruction of the past in the reality through the use of literary devices such as elements of the plot, main character, various motifs and symbols. The author’s primary purpose was to demonstrate how past could be burdensome for the present, if it was not evolving together with the rest of the world. In this regard, Homer’s death symbolised the outcome if one dedicates one’ life to living in the past instead of the present.