Barn Burning | Barn Burning

At a glance:

Author: William Faulkner
First Published: 1939
Type of Plot: Psychological
Time of Work: After the American Civil War
Setting: Mississippi
Principal Characters: Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes, Abner Snopes, Lennie Snopes, Major de Spain, Mrs. Lula de Spain
Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
Subjects: Justice, Children, Family or family life, Hope, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Truth, Loyalty, Arson, Courts or courtrooms
Locales: Mississippi

As the story opens, ten-year-old Colonel Sartoris Snopes (he is named for Colonel John Sartoris, one of the central figures in William Faulkner's fiction) sits in a makeshift courtroom in a dry goods store and listens as his father is accused of burning a neighbor's barn. Young Sarty is called to the stand, but because the plaintiff is ultimately unwilling to force him to testify against his own father, the case is closed, and the father, Abner Snopes, is advised to leave that part of the country. As the family—Sarty, his parents, two sisters, an older brother, and...

Barn Burning | Barn Burning

At a glance:

The Story

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