The setting is the place and time where an event takes place. The tone of a literary work is the attitude that the author gives towards a subject. The …show more content…
The theme is usually expressed through the characters words and actions, and there can be several themes to a short story. The setting of “A Rose for Emily” sparked new behaviors and beliefs of the characters in the story revealing the theme. One of the major themes in “A Rose for Emily” is the struggle between past and present. Miss Emily has trouble changing with the present time, she lives in the past and carries on all the old traditions of her town. Emily did not seem to acknowledge the fact that she was stuck in a temporal setting, which meant that her traditions only existed temporarily. In the town’s past it was acceptable for Emily not to pay any taxes, but as the new generation came up the South itself changed with its more modern ideas. Faulkner states, “When the next generation, with its more modern ideas became mayors and aldermen, this arrangement created some little dissatisfaction” (516), the community became unhappy with Emily not paying any