William Faulkner’s "Barn Burning" reveals the rebellion of one person’s against the economic, social and cultural changes during the Great Depression. Arguably, Abner Snopes rebels against powers that control the economic and social power over his lie. The rebellious nature serves as a danger and a threat as Snopes is a sharecropper and as a result, Snopes will always be the victim of the wealthier and more powerful men in the society. The relationship between Abner and his son, Sarty reflect the socio-economic inequality that occurs between the white tenant farmers and the white landowners and the racial segregation between the whites and the black minority groups in the society. As a poor sharecropper, Abner understands his present social status will never change and that his children would always have a hard life. Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” brings new meaning to the art of surviving as members of the lower socio-economic sector of the society, and adds some amount of justification to the resentment that Abner Snopes feels towards the authority figures.
As a poor sharecropper, Abner understands that he must take steps to show his displeasure with the way the society treats persons in a similar position. Faulkner presents Abner as a complex character that reveals that his inability to provide for his family and the social position of his family can drive a person to the point where there is no care for the laws and values in the society. Abner’s frustrations further leads to his burning barns as a means of rebelling against the society. He further becomes antagonistic because of the social and economic conditions that he has to handle each day. Many factors contribute to Abner’s actions, but most importantly is the fact that he “sojourned until now in a poor country, a land of small farms and fields and houses” (Faulkner 191) and still cannot find a better life.
The unfair treatment that Abner experiences leads to his frustration and this frustration leads to him travelling all over the country searching for new farms and hoping that he will gain substantial financial rewards. Abner’s life has not been fair and this unfair treatment helps to create the coldness in his character one can sympathize with Abner to a point especially when they go to the large house and the black man attempts to bar him from entering. Additionally, Abner’s inability to buy a decent meal for his family because of the lack of money increases his anger. The “one wagonload of possessions" or the "sorry residue of the "twelve movings"(Faulkner 191) add to the list of unfair treatment and Abner knows that his current situation comes from the poverty of the family.
Faulkner shows the instability and continued dependence on the Abner as a sign of the instability in the family. Arguably, the contrast of Major de Spain’s house and the luxury of de Spain affluent lifestyle add to Abner's frustration and desperation with his socio-economic standing in the society. Faulkner plays on the differences in the lifestyle of the two families and the presence of servants in de Spain’s household only adds to the anger that Abner Snopes feels. The servant is dressed in good clothes and looks down on Abner and his family who are dressed in clothes that are “falling apart because it has been washed so many times" (Faulkner 195). But, Abner understands his position as being beneath even the servants in de Spain’s home. These circumstances lead him to burning barns.
Major de Spain shows the reasons Abner resorts to many of his negative behaviors as he represents the way in which the society treats those who are poor. De Spain takes the soiled rug for Abner and his family to clean and return it. This high level of disrespect is a part of the reason that Abner makes his choices. Again de Spain does not try to understand the lower class in the society. But, de Spain is afraid of Abner’s reaction, yet he is quick to answer to the charges brought against Abner. The truth is that the affluent in the society have little or no respect for the lower class and even the Justice of Peace in each situation treats Abner unfairly. The treatment is unfair, but they are the direct result of the inequality that exists in the society.
In concluding, Faulkner delves into an issue that is present in the modern society and shows the readers that the society is contend to keep inequality in the society as a means of keeping one set of persons dependent on the other set of the more affluent in the society. Abner works all his life to survive the hardships in the society. As an adult, he still cannot take care of his family as the cycle of poverty continues to haunt his life. The truth is that the actions of Abner can be justified by his actions as he believes that by burning the barns of the rich landowners he justifies his inability to own and borrow lands.
References
Faulkner, William, “Barn Burning” Ed. Kelly J. Mays “The Norton Introduction to Literature,
Shorter Eleventh Edition, (2013) W.W. Norton & Co., New York, Print
