In William Faulkner's stories A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning, characters of two different social statuses struggle against society in a declining South. The first victim is Emily Grierson from A Rose for Emily. The second is Abner Snopes of Barn Burning. Emily Grierson's journey is dark. His father is too protective and loving. It was said that he helped the town they lived in by bailing them out financially. “…the mayor…remitted his taxes, the dispensation dating from his father's death in perpetuity…Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town, which the town, for commercial reasons, preferred this way of repaying” (90 -91). After Emily's father died, the town's new mayor came to ask for the taxes owed. Emily is overwhelmed by this accusation and screams and protests that we owe no taxes. “I don’t have taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me” (91). Having felt bad for Emily, the mayor leaves empty-handed. When Emily starts dating Homer Barron, the town is delighted to see this woman finally moving on and not being a hermit in her house. “She will marry him” (94). The only problem with this relationship is that it takes a turn for the worst. One fateful day, the townspeople no longer see Homer Barron on the move. “'I want poison,' she said. “Yes, Miss Emily. What kind?’… ‘Arsenic,’ said Miss Emily. 'Is this a good thing'” (94)? Some think he returned to his hometown and others think he and Emily ran away and are living together in his house. As far as they know, Emily killed Homer in the hopes that he would never leave her. The problem in his society is that coming from a wealthy family and a father who has too much say in his relationships... middle of paper ...... of course saying that is inappropriate and morally bad. However, we have to think about how Abner feels. He believes that because of his social status, he must prove himself worthy by setting fire to the hard work of others. It is very easy to compare the lives of Emily and Abner. We look at Emily who is doing well and has general psychological issues that we can easily identify today. Then we see Abner who is very poor and has to rely on other people's land to make a living. What these two characters have in common is that the South turned them against their own society in ways we couldn't imagine in modern times. Works Cited Faulkner, William. “A rose for Emily.” Bedford's compact introduction to literature. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin, 2009. 90-96. Print. Faulkner, William. “Barn on fire.” Bedford/St. that of Martin. 418-29.