Of All Tragedy

From the court case to the inevitable ending, Faulkner presents the reader with a sense of tragedy and a moral that ultimately prevails in encompassing the story and all it entails. Abner is representative of a man with a weakness - ultimately suffering from a wound to his heel from a bullet wound he received during the Civil War from a Confederate soldier. Likewise to Abner, Achilles from Homer's Iliad also suffered from a single weakness that presided in his heel that ultimately gave him human weakness beyond the exterior of robotic perfection. Abner is described as mechanic and like a piece of moving tin with sharp edges and his stiff limp from his wound is a reminder of the humanity that presides within him, a weakness that many originally could not see in him until closely examined. His humanity is seen in his methods of handling himself and the situations around him, particularly when it comes to expressing his absolute disdain towards those of "higher authority" than he.

The procession of tragedy is seen through Sartoris whom is conflictive on how he views his father and the mindset of his own independence that is blooming. Fate is something predictable for the Snopes family as Abner is frequent at burning barns and causing them to move to an entirely new location for survival. The final burning is significant to the launch of Sartoris into his own newfound freedom that is met with great hesitation but at the point his fate is met he can no longer do anything to change the path he has taken for himself.