"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner.

The Past Is the Present After World War One, there were many changes occurring in the world. Man's inherent need to follow tradition was now being challenged by a continually changing, modern world. The past and the present often conflicted. William Faulkner, a southern born writer, based much of his novels and short stories on this conflict. He aptly reflects the turmoil of the past and the present in, " A Rose for Emily". The conflict …

…the " indentation of a head" and a strand of gray hair told the macabre story. This could have ended being a gothic, horror story but instead it shows a repressed, overprotected woman denied a chance to live a normal life because of the times (past). The present had tried to defeat her but only through death, did this become possible. " On the victor, Faulkner bestows a rose of tribute, a rose for Miss Emily"(FIU 26).