A Comparison of Characters

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ENGL 1102

Section 21

Dr. William Belford

5 February 2013

A Comparison of Characters

"A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning" are both famous short stories written by William Faulkner. Both stories are presented in the setting of the old south, giving both stories a general understanding of social norms and culture orientation. Miss. Emily is an important figure in the town and is somewhat seen as a statue for the town's culture. On the other hand, Snopes is a man that most people actually try to stay away from and ignore. In social standing they may seem like complete opposites, but unexpectedly Miss. Emily and Abner Snopes exhibit many similarities. In both stories, however, Faulkner somehow manages to create a great sympathy for both Miss. Emily and Abner Snopes, whom have both committed terrible crimes.

Miss Emily and Abner Snopes have backgrounds that differ greatly. Miss Emily comes from a wealthy family. She is the only person left of her family because she never had any children of her own to live with. She lives in a large restored home in the middle of Jefferson, one of the nicest places in the entire town as described in the short story; "It was a big, squarish frame house that had once had a been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavy limestone style of the seventies, set on what had once street been our most select." (Faulkner). On the other side of the spectrum, Snopes is a terribly poor sharecropper with no ownership of property or land. He barely gets by with he and his family at the bottom of the social ladder.