Guided Interpretation or Question
• Look at the preview slide. Make a prediction
about the book based on the title and the
images.
Author
• William Faulkner
• Born in Mississippi in 1897
• Created his own fictional
Mississippi county called
Yoknapatawpha
• Presented an insider’s view
of the South: it’s unique
culture, attitudes, and
beliefs
• His stories specifically
centered around the South
as it struggled to adjust
after the end of the Civil
War
Guided Interpretation or Question
• Think about what you know of the South.
What are some themes Faulkner’s works will
probably focus on? Use the information from
your notes to guide your response.
Brief Glance
• Overview
• The Snopes family feels
displaced in a new South:
they are working class
family with little chance to
emerge from their social
ranking
• The father of the family,
Abner Snopes is not content
to accept his fate with a
fight: he is accused of being
a serial arsonist.
• His son is put in a truly
awkward position: testify
against his father or remain
loyal to the family
Guided Interpretation or Question
• Put yourself in the shoes of the son, Sartoris
Snopes. What would you do in his position?
Testify against your father? Or turn him in?
Characters
• Sartoris Snopes
• A young boy whose looks
speaks to his family’s
economic struggles
• Abner Snopes
• A broken man: he has a
limp, he has no money,
and he has no power.
Seeks revenge when
wronged.
Literary Focus
• Protagonist
• Sartoris Snopes
• Internal Conflict
• Must internally battle the
choice between family
and morality
• Setting
• The deep South,
plantations, and a general
store that acts as a court
house
Guided Interpretation or Question
• The story takes place in the deep South. It
relies heavily on dialect: the realistic speech
patterns of the people. What added effect
will dialect give the story? Do you feel it will
add or subtract from its overall impact?
Literary Focus
• Symbols
• Abner wipes horse
manure on the RUG of
the landowner, Major
de Spain
• Abner can barely build a
sufficient fire for his
family, but is able to set
horrible blazes when
wronged
Guided Interpretation or Question
• Based on the information given, interpret the
possible symbolism of Abner’s defacing of the
rug. Justify your interpretation.
Guided Interpretation or Question
• Based on the information given, give some
possible symbolic values to fire. What does
fire symbolize globally? What does it mean to
the father in the story? Explain.
Themes
• Themes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Family and Loyalty
Old Order vs. The New
Class Structures
The Emasculated Male
The Struggles of Change
Freedom and Equality
The Invisible Bonds of
Servitude
Guided Interpretation or Question
• Look over the notes we have taken and your
own responses. Using themes as a guide,
write about the probable purpose of
Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning.” Use
specifics within your answers.
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