This story outlines two distinct protagonists and two distinct antagonists. The first two are Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty) and his father Abner Snopes (Ab). Sarty is the protagonist surrounded by his father antagonism, whereas Ab is the protagonist antagonized by the social structure and the struggle imposed on him and his family.

The economic status of the main characters is poor, without hope of improving their condition, and at the mercy of a quasi-feudal system in North America during the late 1800's. Being sharecroppers, the Snope's family, had to share half or two-thirds of the harvest with the landowner. Out of their share pay for the necessities of life. Because of this status, Ab and his family know from the start what the future will hold; hard work for their landlord and mere survival for them.

No hope for advancement prevails throughout the story. Sarty, his brother and the

twin sisters have no access to education, as they must spend their time working in the fields or at home performing familial duties. Nutrition is lacking "He could smell the coffee from the room where they would presently eat the cold food remaining from the mid-afternoon meal"(497). A consequence, poor health combined with inadequate opportunity results in low morale. A morale which the writer is identifying with the middle class of his times that same quality which in later years would cause his descendants to over-run the engine before putting a motor car into motion (493).

The story's emotional turn is clear and definite by Sarty's thoughts and Ab's actions. Sarty's dilemma and Ab's frustrations continually grab the reader, serving up a series of emotionally laden dilemmas: Given the circumstances of the story, is Ab's burning the barn justified? Should Sarty tell the landlord that Ab was responsible for burning down the barn? Is the outdated sociological "Blaming the Victim" theory valid? Is the lose-win arrangement between sharecropper and landowner a morally acceptable one? Burning a barn or any act of economic despair in the form of vandalism is definitely not

Some common words found in the essay are:
North America, Sarty's Ab's, Ab Sarty, Blaming Victim, William Faulkner, Enemy Enemy, Snopes Sarty, burning barn, throughout story, behavior throughout story, ab's actions, behavior throughout, economic injustice,
Approximate Word count = 797
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)