Abner Snopes In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

Barn Burning is a short story by William Faulkner about a man named Abner Snopes whose heart is full of jealousy, envy and vengeance. The story describes Abner Snopes as a very violent man whose insatiable desire was to control people and instill fear in their hearts and of those around him. Unfortunately, his family is no exception to his undesirable characteristics as he also subjects them to both physical and emotional violence. Snopes had no sense of compassion toward anyone, let alone toward his family with whom they share a bond of blood. The author of the short story also uses sharp words in the description of Snopes. Most of the terms used in the description of his character are all indicative of his cold heart and unsympathetic character. The story also depicts Snopes as a very corrupt and dishonest man, both morally and ethically. As a mercenary, Snopes was in the habit of stealing horses and selling them to the highest bidder. Snopes also comes out as a very ruthless personality and he allows his ambition drive him to commit many crimes. Unfortunately, the law is unable to stop him from committing any more crimes as he proves that he is a very good schemer.
The character of Snopes brings to question the theme of family …show more content…
Story id told from the perspective of Sartorius. This point of view draws the attention of the reader to the importance of family loyalty from the perspective of Sartorius. He values his family relations and the approval of his father to an extent that he hides his criminal activities and accepts the blame. However, he realizes that he was never going to get the approval of his father and he made a decision to turn his back to his father and become loyal to the law. The point of view also brings to light the sad fact that some family members are too selfish and loyalty to them is at the expense of sacrificing moral values and involves risking the lives of