... Frank when he feels that it is necessary and advises him. Matt also represents the proverbial "last straw." He is an example of a man who is driven to do the unthinkable. He kills Richard Strout not because he wants to but because he has to, for his wife's sake as well as his own. Abner ... Although very unlike in many ways, Matt and Abner have one main thing in common: motivation. Justice motivates both of the characters. In Matt's case, he feels that Richard's release from prison and his ability to go about living a normal life after murdering Frank is incredibly unfair. Thus, he takes ...

• Word Count: 701
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Frank when he feels that it is necessary and advises him. Matt also represents the proverbial "last straw." He is an example of a man who is driven to do the unthinkable. He kills Richard Strout not because he wants to but because he has to, for his wife's sake as well as his own. Abner ... very unlike in many ways, Matt and Abner have one main thing in common: motivation. Both of the characters are motivated by justice. In Matt's case, he feels that Richard's release from prison and his ability to go about living a normal life after murdering Frank is incredibly unfair. Thus, he takes m...

• Word Count: 671
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... his two daughters to clean the rug in pots of lye; with the bubbling wash-pot and the corrosive lye soap Abner's daughters began to scrub at the stains. Abner watches the progress and decides that the soap is not doing the level of destruction he desires. "Sarty saw his father ... the woods hiding from all men, blue or gray, with his strings of horses (captured horses, he called them)" (Faulkner 26). Following the war Abner's escalation of lawlessness took on a more personal level. He uses the weapon of fire to attack the people who's status or achievements he most envies. ... struck hi...

• Word Count: 1095
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... obstinate personality obstruct his rational thinking. He takes matters into his own hands and consciously decides to destroy the property of others. Benjamin DeMott explains that Abner's decisions are a result of his lack of education, building his frustration towards those surrounding him. He is a "figure in whom ignorance and ... because he is now treated like an African American even though he is white. He has officially now become society's trash, lessening his pride. Abner is a poor white laborer who resents his equality with the blacks and feels as though southern aristocracy looks...

• Word Count: 842
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... DeSpain's house where he entered without given permission, and proceeded to wipe his geet that was covered with horse manure, thus staining the rug. "Abner moves through life with no regard for his fellow humans and with no respect for their right of material possessions" (731). After being told to clean the rug ... the social system only works on behalf of the rich, and he sets out that night to redress this wrong by burning DeSpain's barn (855). Abner's unchanging character is evident not only in his role as being cold-hearted but also in his role as being lawless. "Barn Burning" makes...

• Word Count: 633
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... venting his feelings, he holds them in, as he contains the small fire, until he can lash out with the full force of the hatred. Abner's son Sarty was the character with the most internal conflict throughout the story. He was faced with many different situations that required him to choose between his ... and wants to get away, even if it means going against his own blood. Through his sheer enjoyment of the negative sides of his anger and power, Abner rips his family apart. At the end of the story, he is faced with a very difficult decision. He must decide between his blood, and his moral...

• Word Count: 684
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty, known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families mentality. Sarty's father, Abner Snopes is being accused of a barn burning. Right away, as Sarty is called to testify, you get an idea of what is going through the boy's head, ... rub the manure into a very fine rug. There seems to be no apparent reason for the action other than the fact that the landlord in a way owns Abner Snopes and his family, because the landlord own the land they will have to work for a living. Therefore, they are at the mercy ...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty, known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families mentality. Sarty's father, Abner Snopes is being accused of a barn burning. Right away, as Sarty is called to testify, you get an idea of what is going through the boy's head, ... rub the manure into a very fine rug. There seems to be no apparent reason for the action other than the fact that the landlord in a way owns Abner Snopes and his family, because the landlord own the land they will have to work for a living. Therefore, they are at the mercy ...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty, known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families mentality. Sarty's father, Abner Snopes is being accused of a barn burning. Right away, as Sarty is called to testify, you get an idea of what is going through the boy's head, ... rub the manure into a very fine rug. There seems to be no apparent reason for the action other than the fact that the landlord in a way owns Abner Snopes and his family, because the landlord own the land they will have to work for a living. Therefore, they are at the mercy ...

• Word Count: 1119
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... to be part of the family he has to do something else. Another element of the story is the difference between legal and social justice and how Abner deals with this conflict of ideas. Sarty has been raised to be 'part of the family.' However, what most people consider being part of the family ... is quite different than what the Snopes' think. Abner tells Sarty after hitting him; "You're getting to be a man. . . You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going ... 496). In saying this, he's telling Sarty that he has to do whatever it takes to protect the family. Abner is ve...

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... morally challenged father or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away and leaving his family and his pain behind. The antagonist in the story is Abner Snobes. Abner Snobes is a angry and inconsiderate man who has hate for almost anybody who is not "blood-kin", and he portrays that hatred and contempt throughout the ... the readers can first get a sense of the moral dilemma that Faulkner is trying to portray in this story. Next, we are introduced to the antagonist, Abner Snobes, when he talks for the first time since the trial began. He also establishes the fact that ...

• Word Count: 845
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... have arisen. From staying out of jail, trying to teach his youngest son, and delivering his form of justice to those he feels have wronged him. Abner Snopes is not a bad or cruel person by his standards. He is simply a person of fortune, he also knows no other way to act ... to his barn burning tendencies. Also his method in dealing with the rug that he soiled with horse manure. Although no mention of Abner" father is in the story a presumption could be made by comparing Abner" eldest son, he helps his father set the fires to act out against those that have wronged him. The presumption co...

• Word Count: 531
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the end of the story the reader learns his views have drastically changed. The plot of "Barn Burning" revolves around the consequences of the choices Abner has made in the past. He has been a parasite in former communities causing his family grief and embarrassment. The protagonist in this story is Sarty ... running down Major de Spain's drive and he hears Major de Spain's horse galloping behind him. The symbolic resolution to the conflict comes when Abner and his elder son are shot and killed while trying to burn Major de Spain's barn. However the actual solution does not occur until som...

• Word Count: 990
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... trails off, unable to finish the thought.(page 399) He is starting to realize that his father only does these things to beat the other person. And when Abner tells Sarty that the judge and Mr. Harris "only wanted to get at [him] because they knew [he] had them beat,"" Sarty thinks to himself that ... all they really wanted was truth and justice, but he does not tell his father this because his father would hit him again.(page 400) Abner is a terrible father to Sarty. Not only does he name his son as a part of his games to trick people, (Colonel Sartirus??) he does not even ... wrong, he...

• Word Count: 891
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... of the story. In general a father-son relationship would be built on genuine respect, love, loyalty, and admiration. These building blocks were absent in the relationship of Abner and Sarty Snopes. Sarty's loyalty to his father appeared to come from a long time fear of the consequences of not obeying his father's commands. The "nigger" that ... Sarty viewed his father at times as "bloodless" and cut from "tin." Sarty could usually convince himself why his father was this way. The fact escaped him that Abner chose to be a horse "trader" for four years hiding from the blue and the gray armi...

• Word Count: 643
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... family centered- approach: "Barn Burning- and "A Rose for Emily,"" "Barn Burning- is the story of Sarty Snopes' maturation and separation from his father, Abner. The story appears to be told by an older Sarty looking back on the events of his childhood. From the beginning it is obvious that he is not ... tone for a strong, healthy family unit. The opening scene, his trial, gives a good indication of the kind of man Abner is. Concepts like love or compassion are lost on him. Abner does not talk to his family, he simply gives orders. Also, he thinks nothing of inflicting physical punishment...

• Word Count: 1080
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... at a glance appears to concentrate mainly on the character of the young boy Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty) and his inner conflict. Pressured by his father (Abner Snopes) to lie in court to protect his father, he feels as if he is "being pulled two ways like two teams of horses.""(Faulkner 381) ... , however, although the character that the reader most sympathizes with, is not however the only important character in the story. The character of Sarty's father, Abner, is also vital to our understanding of the story. Portrayed in the story as a cruel and heartless character consumed by hatr...

• Word Count: 721
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... his hog got into Mr. Harris's corn. Mr. Harris returns it and gives him wires to patch up his pen so it will not happen again. However, Abner does not patch up his pen and so the hog gets out again. Mr. Harris keeps the hog when the hog comes again and demands a dollar pound fee ... to return it back. Coincidently that night a "nigger" pays him the fee and the barn burns. Mr. Harris accused Abner. Abner is put on trial and Mr. Harris asks Sartoris to testify. "Our enemy he thought in that despair; ourn! Min and hisn both! He's my father!) Sartoris ... is silly to think that a young boy ...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... order that is not of his blood ("to learn to stick to your own blood...any blood to stick to you" p.167). For him, he is Abner Snopes versus the rest of mankind; he instructs the boy that everyone is his enemy. For Mr Snopes, "they" is the enemy. The boy says that ... accomplice. Sarty expresses a hope that his father will change. His cry (p.175: "He ain't done it!), protesting his father's innocence, expresses this desperate hope; Abner Snopes is what he his whereas his son is in the process of becoming. A change in his father's behaviour would mean that this one has recovered a ... no...

• Word Count: 1422
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... people in a proletariat fashion because it comes naturally to him. Growing up he was wealthy and his writing gives the impression that he is above the others in his neighborhood. Abner Snopes, from "Barn Burning," is also a character in Faulkner's The Unvanquished, The Hamlet, The Town, The Mansion, "My Grandmother Millard," and "Vendee." He is a well developed character in part because ... name Colonel Sartoris appears in both short stories. In "A Rose For Emily," the Colonel is the Mayor of Jefferson and in "Barn Burning," he is the man who shot Abner Snopes, when Abner tried the stea...

• Word Count: 1097
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... different tangible objects as symbols to contribute to the story's meaning. The first symbol to be discussed from "Barn Burning", are the fires that the father, Abner Snopes, makes. He uses an extremely small fire, just large enough for cooking and light in the evening but at the same time, the father uses a ... standing in the community and by smearing the horse droppings on he carpet, the father is making the statement of what he thinks of their wealth. Abner Snope's coat is also used to symbolize him in the book. In one passage from the story, Sarty describes following his father as ...

• Word Count: 536
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... such as "nigger- (Faulkner 146) also make up the diction of the story. Such racist slurs are used to build a certain attitude toward the character who says them. Faulkner describes Abner's walk as "stiffly- (Faulkner 146) which also affects the reader's feelings about a character. Sarty uses the word "bovine- (Faulkner 152) to describe his fat sisters. For many readers who are ... the theme. William Faulkner once again does not resemble Ernest Hemingway with the details he includes in "Barn Burning-. Details Faulkner gives are rather more rich and overdone than Hemingway. Abner's charac...

• Word Count: 1748
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... stands out as a wholly callous and insensitive patriarch as well as a vicious and malevolent poster-child for the oppressed proletariat tenant-farmers. Abner Snopes is the father of Colonel Sartoris Snopes, the young The economic status of the main characters is poor, without hope of improving their condition, and at the mercy of a ... ...

• Word Count: 772
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... laws do not apply to her. She refuses to pay taxes and kills a man she loves. In the story "Eveline", Eveline finds love with a man called Frank. He asks her to leave Ireland and come to Buenos Aires with him. She has to make the decision to stay at home or to start a new life with ... Frank. Emily and Eveline's relationship with their fathers makes it very difficult for them to find love. Emily's father is a very wealthy man and he feels that no ... her father dies. In the same way, Eveline's father does not want her to be with Frank. "One day he had quarreled with Frank and after that...

• Word Count: 716
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the old South with her. The short story, "Barn Burning" was the story of an itinerant family of farm laborers moved from place to place after the violent pyromaniac father, Abner Snopes, would become angry and set fire to his employer's barn. The atrocities he witnessed during the Civil War seemed to have burned a hole deep into his psyche. The story ... ...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School