"A Rose for Emily"

William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily”, is set in the Reconstruction Era. During this era, the Civil War had just ended. Therefore, the physical setting in “A Rose for Emily” is greatly impacted by the time period.

After Miss Emily’s father’s death, the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, remitted her taxes. However, as years passed, a new generation came along with more modern ideas. The new generation of mayors and alderman wouldn’t remit Miss Emily’s taxes. They sent her notice after notice and she still refused to pay her taxes.

Northerners were also an addition to the South as a result of the Reconstruction Era. Homer Barron was a Yankee who migrated from the north to the small Mississippi of Jefferson to become a foreman. Homer was a “big, dark, ready man, with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face.” He and Miss Emily had been seen around town spending a lot of time together. However, in the end it is implied that Miss Emily had killed Homer. His body was discovered in a room upstairs in Miss Emily’s house.