1. Common Core Pre-Reading Notes and Questions
Barn Burning
Common Core Pre-Reading Notes and Questions

2. Guided Interpretation or Question
Look at the preview slide. Make a prediction about the book based on the title and the images.

3. Author

4. 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

5. 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.

6. Overview

7. 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

8. 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?

9. Characters

10. Characters Sartoris Snopes Abner Snopes
A young boy whose looks speaks to his family’s economic struggles
A broken man: he has a limp, he has no money, and he has no power. Seeks revenge when wronged.

11. Literary Focus

12. Literary Focus Protagonist Internal Conflict Setting Sartoris Snopes
Must internally battle the choice between family and morality
The deep South, plantations, and a general store that acts as a court house

13. 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?

14. 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

15. Guided Interpretation or Question
Based on the information given, interpret the possible symbolism of Abner’s defacing of the rug. Justify your interpretation.

16. 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.

17. Themes

18. 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

19. 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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