Protagonist Abner Snopes

4 Pages 989 Words

Gundareva 1
Marina Gundareva
English 112
Mrs. S. Grant
October 8, 2003
Protagonist Abner Snopes
In 1939, William Faulkner writes “Barn Burning”. The story reflects the life of the people living in Mississippi during the period of “social, economic, and cultural tumult, the decade of Great Depression” (Mary E. Byrne) The main theme in “Barn Burning” concerns the relationships between father- Abner Snopes and his son- Sarty Snopes, shows the social and economic injustice that happens “between the white landowners and the white tenant farmers”, “the racial distinction between black and whites” (Mary E. Byrne). The plot in “Barn Burning” depicts a story of a family that is in the lowest social class and endures financial difficulties. Abner Snope’s attempts for better life do not lead to anything and his family has nothing left to do but travel all over the country in search of new farms which they can lend and maybe make some money just enough to merely survive. Abner Snopes is a poor sharecropper; he is smart enough to understand that his social status is never going to improve, and that his children’s future holds only hard work. Abner Snope’s complex characterization by Faulkner proves that the social position of his family, inability to provide the members of his family with better life environment leads to the frustration and makes him to become a rebel barn burner; protagonist Abner Snopes turns into antagonist only due to the social and economic pressure the society puts on him.

Gundareva 2
Abner Snopes is one of the main characters in William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. William Faulkner shows the nature of Abner Snopes through his attitude towards his family and towards society he lives in. Abner Snopes has four children whose destiny is a great concern of his. Abner Snopes, a person with “wolf-like independence and even courage” (495), becomes discouraged when in spite of his hard w...