The Barn Burning Blues

William Faulkner's short story, "Barn Burning", is about a family's struggle created by their father. the main character and father, Abner Snopes, is a self-ritous "no-good" who supports his family by moving from barn to barn as a tenant. He is able to do this by setting fire to the barn he tends to, and then leaving the city and finding another gullible, victim who needs him to tend to their land. Faulkner describes Abner …

…mother cooks and cleans, the girl's help. It's almost as if they don't even consider their fathers actions as crimes, but as jobs. Unfortuantely, present times, the Snopes aren't such an odd family. But in post-Civil War times, these people are considered white trash and outsiders. Williman Faulkner's, "Barn Burning" is a message about no matter how hard times get, never trade in your family, because their the only ones who won't trade you in.