The Past and the Present Conflict In: "A Rose for Emily" <Tab/>The story "A Rose for Emily" " by William Faulkner takes place in a small town in the south of the United States after the civil war. One of the aspects we could look at the story is through the conflict of the past and the present. Emily Grierson, Colonel Sartoris, the Board of Alderman, and the Negro servant represent …showed first 75 words of 756 total…

…showed last 75 words of 756 total…Just like the past, which one cannot change. Her world was the past. In that world, even poisoning Homer was not a crime, because no one judges history. However, nobody can stop the time, or fight it. No matter how hard Miss Emily tried traditions of the old South and the past died with her. The new world with the modern views took over. Yet, "they waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground."