Paper Topic:

comparison and contrast of William Faulkners `A Rose for Emily` and `Barn Burning`

Barn Burning ' and A Rose for Emily ' each tell a story from both side of the class divide . In William Faulkner 's A Rose for Emily the grandeur of the Old South begins to fade away and the seamy underside of the upper crust begins to literally seep through the floorboards with an intolerable stench . Barn Burning ' tells the tale of a sociopathic pyromaniac that delights in setting barns on fire and making the landowners as destitute as he is . In both stories , the upper-class characters are at the same time sympathetic as

well as objects of scorn , whether or not that was what Faulkner intended According to Marxist theory , Western society idolizes wealth capitalism , and the American Dream . Rather than promote unparalleled opportunity for all , these paradigms are used to oppress poor people and minorities alike , because American society factors in race as a function of class (Tyson , 57-60 . While the social hierarchy was more fluid in America than in Europe , opportunity was denied to those possessing the wrong skin color . The old Negro character at the de Spain residence as well as Emily 's manservant were unlikely to receive any opportunities in life . As late as the 1960 's , black people that got above themselves were targets for lynch mobs . Thus , many took jobs as domestics or manual laborers , education notwithstanding - a permanent underclass similar to the European serfs of the Middle Ages

Abner Snopes is a member of the dominant racial culture , yet he is a poor sharecropper with little education or ethics for that matter . In this story , Faulkner 's stance is clearly anti-Marxist . Snopes does not appear to be an honest laborer who is brutally exploited by mean-spirited landowners . Instead , he appears to have a grudge against the world and manifests it by burning down barns . When barns are burnt a family farm can lose their livestock , harvest , or equipment . In the beginning of the story , he is in court because Mr . Harris accused him of burning his barn . Apparently , he tried to be kind to Snopes , even giving him barbed wire to keep his pig inside the yard . As one can imagine , the pig escaped again into Harris 's yard and he wanted to charge one dollar for its return so that Snopes would learn his lesson and honor his responsibilities . But Snopes repaid him with the dollar and the burning of his barn . Ultimately , he was driven out of town to vent his rage elsewhere . Exile is quite a harsh punishment for an alleged arsonist , but at least he was not found guilty in court - that would have carried a much harsher sentence . After all , there was no conclusive proof establishing his guilt other than suspicion , which lends credence to the theory that he was discriminated against for being poor and miserable . The family moves somewhere else , just like many poor families of the Great Depression had to leave their homes after falling on hard times . Even so , he still cannot contain his...

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