Abner Snopes: Faulkner's Lost Cause
Date
2009-02-27
Authors
Franks, Travis
Young, Ph.D., Gene
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sam Houston State University. Elliott T. Bower's Honor College
Abstract
Description
This is an in depth analysis of a fictional character, Abner Snopes, within specific works of William Faulkner: the short story "Barn Burning" and the novel "The Hamlet." Taking a literary and historical perspective by including criticisms by leading Faulkner scholars as well as historical analysis of the South following the Civil War, the purpose of this project is to discuss other approaches previously used in examining this topic and expound upon them by placing Snopes in the context of two works of fiction rather than a single work. The project includes an examination of the code of honor surrounding the antebellum South, the legacy of the Civil War in relation to these works, the conflicts created by the socio-economic statues of landless farmers, and the importance of the evolving capitalist economy in the reconstructed South in order to display the dissimilarities within these two works and the importance of those differences in relation to Faulkner.
Keywords
Faulkner, William, 1897-1962, Discourse analysis, Literary, Characters and characteristics in literature