The Civil Rights Movement affected our country in many ways, both positive and negative. Being compared to the time era we live in today, it seems like an outside world with many differences and similarities. "A Rose for Emily," written by William Faulkner, tells about the life of Miss Emily Grierson of her final few years and her love story that went wrong. The years throughout the Civil Rights Movement were known as easy times to love, but also tough times as well. In some cases, it emotionally took over an individual to where their social life and interactions with other people were altered forever. Miss Emily Grierson is an example of this. Even in today's world, these aspects of people's lives are still very much affected by conflict. With so much conflict occurring within our own country, so many different opinions being thrown out into the public, and people physically fighting for their rights, there were a lot of different emotions present. Whether it was the Civil Rights Movement, or any war/conflict that takes place in today's time era, it not only has an extreme affect on the United States, but to the emotions and way of living of individuals. 

The Civil Rights Movement was an emotional time for our country and the individuals within. The greatest, non-changing emotion being love. It is such a huge feeling that can affect somebody in the smallest way. For example, when Miss Emily Grierson's father had passed away, the ladies of the town in which they lived, gathered together to go and comfort her. Faulkner writes, "The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid ... " (Faulkner 229). This reminds me of something that people would still do if someone we knew lost a loved one. The love and respect that the ladies showed Miss Emily relate to the struggling years of the Civil Rights era to the still-conflicting times of today. Another example comes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s writing piece, "The World House." The major Civil Rights Movement leader writes, "We have inherited a large house, a great 'world house' in which we have to live together ...  a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace" (King 284). This statement was made in result of the conflict that was occurring within the country and between the individuals of different races. In this quote, King reminds us of the true reason of why we are here in this world and country together. Stated in the Bible, the human race was created as one. Yes, our opinions and views may differ drastically from one to another; however, we are all sharing the same land. Why must there be riots and war between our own people? Instead, humans should care and respect one another. In contrast, it backs up the reason of why the ladies visited Miss Emily following her father's death. Despite any conflict or war that is taking place, or the different historical eras the world goes through, love is an emotion that is still always present. "The World House" also states, "All inhabitants of the globe are now neighbors" (King 284). Agreeing with Martin Luther King Jr., we are all in this world together, living and going through life. When life is already difficult enough and there is hatred through world conflict, we should be loving instead of hating. 

People's way of living was an affected aspect from the Civil Rights Movement; however, this is when you can start to point out the differences between then and now. Communication, specifically, has changed a good amount. For example, Miss Emily was reached out to by the city authorities many times, due to her lack of paying taxes. The beginning of the fourth paragraph reads, "On the first of the year they mailed her a tax notice" (Faulkner 227). A few sentences later, Faulkner writes, "A week later the mayor wrote her himself, offering to call or to send his car for her ... " (Faulkner 227). This shows that writing letters was a big part of communicating with people during this time. Yes, Miss Emily had a house phone, but someone as powerful as city authorities still chose to write her instead. For a contrasting example, "The World House" reads, "Human beings, searching a century ago as now for better understanding, had no television, no radios, no telephones and no motion pictures through which to communicate" (King 284). This is a contrasting statement because today, our country is centered around technology. We rely on our phones, the internet, television, laptops, iPads, etc. for most of our day-to-day activities. Communication has grown immensely since the years of the Civil Rights Movement with the help of technology. If some of these inventions and ways of communication were taken away today and we altered back to how it was throughout those years, our country would have trouble making that change. 

People's social lives altered and have expanded since the years of the Civil Rights Movement. For example, Faulkner writes, "Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable" (Faulkner 228). Back then, it was very typical and common for a couple, or even just friends, drive around town in their old-fashioned car. People would attend church, eat their Sunday afternoon lunch, and then do whatever they pleased. This can still be present in today's world, but the typical social life has expanded drastically. "Friday Night Lights" started off as a movie in the year of 2004. Then, it was transformed into a multi-series television show that aired in the mid from 2006 to 2011, which leads to the written story in the Carolina Reader. Written by H.G. Bissinger, he writes, "'When somebody talks about West Texas, they talk about football'" (Bissinger 320). Back in older times, towns were smaller, whites and blacks did not attend the same school, and sports were not very big, neither was education; however, it is the complete opposite in today's time. Sporting events, especially football, play a huge roll in the social field throughout middle school and high school. There were, of course, typical stereotypes of being within the "cool crowd" if you were a football player or a cheerleader. You would attend school the whole week, knowing that you had Friday night football to look forward to. Bissinger also writes, "Because of such an attitude, Permian had established itself as perhaps the most successful football dynasty in the country- pro, college, or high school" (Bissinger 321). This statement should give an idea of how important and how big of a deal football now is in schools. In some areas, it is what brings that whole community together. For example, Allen, a character in "Friday Night Lights," says, "'There is nothing to replace it. It is an integral part of what made the community strong. You take it away and it is almost like you strip the identity of the people'" (Bissinger 320). The emotional connection between the school's football team and the whole community shows that it is truly cared for. Also, whites and blacks attend the same schools in today's time, showing that discrimination of someone's skin color has diminished for the most part. If this social event did not exist, like Allen said in the story, it would be like taking a piece of a puzzle away forever. The typical social lives of people in America have changed drastically since the years of the Civil Rights Movement.

There are many aspects of our country, and life in general, that got altered throughout and following the time of the Civil Rights Movement. There will always be some kind of war and conflict, whether it is within the United States, or involving the outside world. It truly does take an emotional toll on people's well-being. The years of this conflict is a great example of this, and is also something to learn from and make comparisons to. There are many connections between the time period then and the time period now when reading "A Rose for Emily." A lot of those connections are ways that the United States and our people have grown and advanced. New inventions of technology, social life expanding, and emotions changing are all inevitable. Whether it was the Civil Rights Movement, or something that occurs in today's time era, it has a personal affect on individuals and not just on the country as a whole.

