In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the protagonist, elderly Miss Emily Grierson, is a living monument. Although her city is modernizing, she rejects new ways of living. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor, the grandmother wants to revisit places from her past. He constantly refers to things as they were in his time. Miss Emily is portrayed as the victim while Grandma is seen as annoying. Miss Emily kills to get what she wants while Grandma manipulates. William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor both present notions of past, present, and refusal to change in excerpts from their stories. Faulkner writes “A Rose for Emily” in the vision of a memory, the memory of the people of the city. The story moves back and forth as memories do, and the reader is not told exactly who the narrator is. This style of writing contributes to the notions Faulkner gives off throughout the story about Miss Emily's past, present, and her refusal to modernize with the rest of her town. The city of Jefferson is at a turning point, embracing a more modern future while still being on the fringes of the past. Garages and cotton gins are replacing elegant Southern homes. Miss Emily herself is a living Southern tradition. It remains the same over the years despite many changes in its community. Although Miss Emily is a living monument, she is also seen as a burden to the town. By refusing to have the numbers posted on the side of his house when the city receives modern postal service and by not paying taxes, he has lost touch with reality. The younger generation of leaders brings Homer's company with them to pave the sidewalks. The past is not a faint glimmer but an ever-present and idealized realm. Emily's morbid bride... middle of paper... has irritated the children and both parents seem to ignore it. The grandmother remembers: “In my time... children were more respectful of their country of origin, their parents and everything else. The people did well then” (187). Grandma is implying that people back then were well educated and did better things than people of the new generation. William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor imply the notions of present, past, and refusal to change in their stories. While Faulkner does this in a more gruesome way, O'Connor asks the grandmother to collect her memories and compare them to her present day. While Miss Emily kills and keeps Homer to have someone to love, The Misfit shoots the grandmother after she tries to tell him that he was her son. Both protagonists refuse to change their habits from the past, causing them problems in the present.