The Hamlet by William Faulkner is a story that focuses on two families, the Snopes and the Varners. Will Varner is a wealthy man who owns almost every business and property across Frenchman’s Bend. Because of his age, he decides to delegate most of his work to Jody, his son. In addition, Will has a daughter, Eula, who is admired by many men in town.

Jody meets Ab Snopes in one of their stores. He is new in town. Ab has a bad reputation of burning down farms. However, Jody and his son decide to rent out one of their farms to Ab. Jody employs Flem, Ab’s son, at their store, and within a short time span Flem takes up Jody’s role in running the store.

The Snopes keep a lot to themselves. They hardly interact with people. Flem is secretive and does not reveal his plans to anyone. He mainly focuses on making money and is a better businessperson than Will and his son. Flem becomes a loan shark and deceptively gives money to poor, desperate people. Moreover, he makes money by taking advantage of Issac Snopes, who is mentally ill but inherited some wealth from his family. Flem ends up marrying Eula, and they leave Mississippi for Texas.