29th Annual Student Research Conference
Power and Profit: A Marxist Analysis of Faulkner's "Barn Burning" and "A Rose for Emily"
Anne E. Morgan
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
William Faulkner's short stories "Barn Burning" and "A Rose for Emily" illustrate the conflicts resulting from class-based divisions in society. In "Barn Burning," the Snopes family, poor Southern sharecroppers, struggle to survive in extreme destitution on the margins of society. The class system controls all aspects of the Snopes' family's lives. Similarly, in "A Rose for Emily," the code of Southern aristocracy defines Emily Grierson's life. Her affair with Homer Barron, a "Yankee" day-laborer, no less, defies the social norms of her community. In each story, issues of class converge with those of gender. This paper will explore the ways in which a rigid class system isolates its poorer members from the upper classes, producing a catalyst for class struggle.
Keywords: class, gender, class struggle
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -1
Location: VH 1212
Time: 1:00