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I remember in the story Sarty heard three gunshots assuming his father and brother died. Did they? I remember from a reading that they didn't and Faulkner used Sarty's father character in a later story? Is this true? If it is, does anyone have the source? Thanks!

In reply

his father did really die and we can clearly see in the text that just before the last para there is a line 'father my father,he thought"he was brave!'.It clearly indicates that his father is dead.

Actually, his father DID NOT DIE. This is something puny that Faulkner often does within his stories. He leads people to believe that the person is dead and we later read about the characters in a different story. Sarty and Abner are mentioned in many other of William Faulkner's works. THanks

His father did die. Sarty had tripped over his father's body and then he eulogoizes him when his words change from "pap" to "father."

The father's character was simply resurrected for additional stories.  Faulkner did this with many characters.