Antisocial Personality Disorder In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning,” a piece that is in the viewpoint of a post-war African-American family, with the protagonist being the son, Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes. In the exposition, Abner Snopes, the head of the family, was on trial for burning a landlord’s barn but later dismissed from the trial and advised to leave the county. Sarty was punished by his father later that night because his father accused him of having second thoughts and being disloyal to the family. They finally arrived at a new home, which belonged to Major de Spain. After several confrontations, Abner began to gravitate toward burning de Spain’s barn. Sarty decided to warn Major de Spain and ran away from home. Although Sarty was the protagonist, his father
The causes for Antisocial Personality Disorder are difficult to pinpoint, but there are theories on how APD developed. Some of the theorized causes include biological factors, social factors (how they act around people), and psychological factors (their personalities shaped by their environment). It is also proposed that these factors are intertwined and cannot be singled out to be the precursor of APD (“Antisocial Personality”). An important note about the setting could also give a reasonable answer as to why Abner Snopes maybe suffering from APD. The setting could easily be assumed to have taken place post-Civil War because this African American family is allowed to be sharecroppers. Pre-Civil War did not allow many African Americans (if any at all), to be sharecroppers. Most African American people were still slaves. Abner Snopes may have been a former slave who has been emancipated and gain his freedom. But because he may still have bitter feelings about pre-Civil War, Abner Snopes may have developed APD, because it is seen through his actions: instigating problems, repeated domestic abuse, and his signature barn