Barn Burning

William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during the Civil War. The main character, Abner Snopes, sharecrops to make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of jealousy for wealthy people, he goes and burns their barns to get revenge. Abner’s character over the course of the story is unchanging in that he is cold-hearted, lawless, and violent.

First, Abner’s unchanging character shows his cold-heartedness. After being sentenced to leave the country for burning a man’s barn, he shows no emotions to his family. During the story, there was not a time when he apologized or offered a word of encouragement to them. His tone of voice when talking to them is bitter and bossy, and he never said thank you. Later in the story after they had arrived at their next house, he orders his wife, her sister and his two daughters to unload the wagon. He walks with his son to DeSpain’s house where he entered without given permission, and proceeded to wipe his feet that were covered with horse manure, staining the rug. Abner moves through life with no regard for his fellow humans and with no respect for their right to

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It is seen throughout the story that Abner’s act of burning barns is violent. When Abner returned home, he continued his act of breaking the law by committing arson. This showed that Abner has no remorse for anyone. He orders he to hold on to him and not let him run away. Things today are better than they were back during the Civil War, people are still categorized by how much money they have.

He shoves his wife away when she tugs at his arm and tries to restrain him. His coldness is shown when he demands his two daughters to clean the rug in pots of lye and then hanging it to dry. After being told to clean the rug, Abner took a rock and ruined it even more. There was no evidence to rule against Abner so he was advised to leave the country. Abner's act of breaking the law begins when he was supposed to be fighting in the Civil War, but instead he stole horses from both sides of the lines. His son’s simple reply of “yes” saved him from more torturous beatings from his father. This started the incident with the rug, which later led to the burning of DeSpain’s barn. At the beginning of the story, Abner is in a makeshift courtroom where he is being tried for burning Mr.

Finally, Abner’s unchanging character is revealed not only in his role as being cold-hearted and lawless but also as violent.

Abner’s unchanging character is evident not only in his role as being cold-hearted but also in his role as being lawless.

Approximate Word count = 917
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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