A Rose for Emily and Old Gardiston

William Faulkner in his short story "A Rose for Emily" was very successful in capturing the time of the reconstruction after the civil war. The story is somewhat disturbing as it tells us about a women who is so obsessed with her own ways that she does not co-operate with authority. She even keeps her man Homer, the contractor form the North, in the same bed even after his death. When I was reading the story I felt like it was the rebel nature of the south and the things that was going on in the house was a bitter reaction to the rapid changes that were going on in the South. It is also a clash of old vs new ideas for example Emily is very hesitant of change as she does not want to install a mailbox/number in her house. I took Death of Homer to be a revenge against the Northern ways and the changes the North brought in the South. It was an interesting read. The most interesting thing about this story is that the entire town is represented as a narrator which is a new idea to me. The Gothic elements are the dead body, conspiracy and extreme secrecy. No one knew what was really going on until the death of Emily.
The Old Gardiston is another bitter response to changes that is taking place in the south. We still see the confederate flags in the present day so it is normal for the people of that time to disregard the idea of single country where the North and the South being together as a single country. While the speaking house is the gothic element in this story, the story has some deeper meanings. The attitude of women is stronger against the change as they have suffered the most during the war as they lost their loved ones in the war. So this story may be the reaction against the act which the women would blame the Northerners for.