Stories of William Faulkner. All three tales resonate with complex political themes. "That Evening Sun" paints a stark portrait of racism, as the Compson children either absorb or enact the prejudices around them, with Nancy, their laundress and occasional cook and maid, ensnared in the web of racial stereotypes. "Barn Burning" wrestles with the concepts of justice and loyalty among impoverished Southern whites, where the protagonist is caught between the pursuit of truth and family allegiance.

"Red Leaves," too, grapples with racial themes, highlighting the Native American enslavement practices, which are depicted as both more humane and cruel than those of their white counterparts. This narrative gains additional poignancy from the looming knowledge that by the mid-nineteenth century, whites have expelled the Native Americans from northern Mississippi, where the story unfolds.

William Faulkner, though he saw himself fundamentally as a novelist, found a steadfast ally in the craft of short story writing. These narratives, much like his ventures in the glittering world of Hollywood, became the cornerstone of his livelihood as he penned his longer works. Faulkner approached his short stories with utmost seriousness, crafting them into thematic novels like Go Down, Moses and The Unvanquished through meticulous selection, arrangement, and partial rewriting.

Whenever Faulkner released collections of his short stories, the way he curated them—sometimes by thematic connection, recurring characters, or regional focus—held equal importance to the tales themselves. This method echoed the practices of literary greats like Joyce in Dubliners and Sherwood Anderson in Winesburg, Ohio. To Faulkner, individually published short stories seemed like solitary wanderers unless they germinated into grander novels.

Nevertheless, Faulkner wielded his short story art with remarkable prowess. By employing deeply reflective first- and third-person narrators, he borrowed from the techniques of Joseph Conrad. Meanwhile, his mastery of symbolic storytelling drew inspiration from literary pioneers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.

The tapestry of Yoknapatawpha County weaves together the narratives of Faulkner's stories and novels, each thread tightly bound to the others. Within this mythic landscape of northern Mississippi, the plots of "Barn Burning," "That Evening Sun," and "Red Leaves" unfold. Ab Snopes, the slippery character from "Barn Burning," reemerges in The Unvanquished as he cunningly assists Rosa Millard in her mule trade with the Union army. His machinations ultimately ensnare her in a lethal web of deceit. As Flem Snopes' progenitor, Ab occupies a pivotal position within the Snopes trilogy—The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion—where the rise of Flem, a master manipulator surpassing even Ab's deviousness, is meticulously chronicled.

In "That Evening Sun," all but Nancy and Jesus transition into The Sound and the Fury, their presence casting long shadows that hint at deeper narratives. The simmering tensions between Caddy and Jason in the story become a prelude to their complex roles within the novel. Here, these siblings navigate their world by calibrating fear, treachery, and valor against the color of one's skin. Yet the brevity of the tale leaves the seeds of their psychological intricacies largely unexplored. Mrs. Compson already emerges as a plaintive figure, a precursor to her characterization in the novel. Meanwhile, Mr. Compson’s half-hearted concern for his offspring in the story is but a faint outline of the disillusioned drunkard whose philosophical musings with Quentin resonate in The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom!

Indian Narratives

"Red Leaves" heralds the first in a quartet of tales centered on Native Americans, nestled within "The Wilderness" segment of The Collected Stories of William Faulkner. Within "A Justice," Quentin takes the reins as narrator to recount Doom’s ascension over the tribe and his quest for fairness between his tribesman, Crawford, and a black slave. Their conflict over a black woman, who births Sam Fathers—a key figure in Go Down, Moses—forms the heart of this tale. Meanwhile, "A Courtship" unfolds during Issetibbeha's tenure as chieftain, a light-hearted and heroic caper involving the infatuation of David Hogganbeck and Ikkemotubbe, Issetibbeha's nephew, with Herman Basket's sister. Despite its comedic veneer, "Lo," set in the halls of power in Washington, D.C., tackles the somber theme of land ownership. Although the narrative sees the Indians secure a legal victory over the whites, an ominous undertone suggests that the ultimate struggle is far from over.

The evocative tale of "Barn Burning" transformed into a captivating television play aired on August 17, 1954. The adaptation bore the creative touch of Gore Vidal, with the talented E.G. Marshall gracing the cast. This compelling narrative also lent its essence to The Long, Hot Summer, a cinematic masterpiece released in 1958 by Twentieth Century Fox. This film featured an impressive ensemble, including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles, and Lee Remick.