A Short Story by William Faulkner, Research Paper Example

Analytical assessment of “Spotted Horses,” A Short Story by William Faulkner

Spotted horses is a brilliant writing that strikes a chord with its readers. The author William Faulkner utilizes brilliant writing skills to make the book interesting and different from a story like the Hamlet and others of this category. Authors like Mark Twain have successfully incorporated post-modern south-western humor in their writing that has made their books popular and significant. The narrative is based on an old legacy of tall tales and Southwestern comedy, making William Faulkner’s piece perhaps popular and symbolic like Mark Twain’s. The exaggeration in Faulkner’s depictions of horses and the overall humorous exaggeration message is derived from this tradition.

Spotted Horses is set in an exaggerated idealist setting by Faulkner. His insolvency to such type of tall-tale humor, which relies mainly on a freely over-extended oral narrative, is recognized by critics acquainted with Old Southwest American humor. Houghton, in his critique in the article Fulkener’s Short Stories explains the concept of exaggeration in the following aspect; e.g. our first time to see the animals involves unexpected run-in of the sewing machine agents with them when the story begins: “Here I was this morning pretty near half way to town, with the team ambling along and me, setting in the buckboard about half asleep when all of a sudden something come surging up outer the bushes and jumped the road clean, without touching hoof to it. It flew right over my team big as a billboard and flying through the air like a hawk.” Faulkner uses a sewing machine operator to be the auditory protagonist in the short story to establish a casual, personable, communicative sound. Faulkner uses a stereotypical character, the con man, who steals an individual’s trust where the word “con” becomes practical, that is, to take advantage of the individual’s naivety concerning this story form. The con man comes in many forms, but his effectiveness is always contingent on his victim’s selfishness; a skilled con man will instinctively know which method of manipulation is most effective. The short story presents three kinds of con men: operator of the machine, Texan, and Flem Snopes, and they all show his craftsmanship in unique ways. The sewing machine operator is affable; the Texan undoes himself, and Flem is a cunning manipulator. The sewing machine operator is a great narrator despite his corn artistry being his greatest skill in the story, a behavior that should be discouraged rather than encouraged. Since he sees the importance of a scam as an ambitious young sewing machine handler, the main protagonist, a moderate con man with consciousness, is a great storyteller. Since Flem Snopes took advantage of him in the past, he has a newfound admiration for someone who can outwit him. (Warren P.132)

As a normal human being with some moral standing, he despises Flem’s inhuman nature in the con artistry; however, as a con artist, he respects Flem and regards himself as inferior. This is a brilliance of the story that the author presents though in a disguised way. The Texan is a classic con artist. He loves his successes and is very eloquent and conniving in the horses trading game, however, not as viciously as Flem. When he notices Mrs. Armstead’s troubling composure and frustration over her husband squander of their last 5 dollars, he tries to reclaim the cash. He attends to her human desires and seeks to alleviate the difficulties and suffering that her unbearable, violent husband has inflicted on her. The speaker says that Flem is the 3rd form of a scam artist, somebody who is cruel, nasty, and uncompromisingly inhumane, in contrasting Mrs. Amsted’s handling by the Texan and Flem’s way of treatment. He doesn’t get his hands dirty by specifically engaging in any work, whether manual or physiological, as long as they guarantee to get his hands dirty. Instead, he observes the transaction from afar. The protagonist’s repeated expressions The Flem and Them Snopes reinforce his significance, great importance, and constant presence, which can be described, and omnipotence and omnipresence are experienced all through the tale. William Faulkner uses incongruity and contrast in the story gives a far-fetched symbolism that makes it not obvious for the reader, and the reader has to dig deep into the reasoning and the meaning behind these juxtapositions. The strange symbolism in the story, however, works to create exquisite prose. Houghton points out this scenario in the book where juxtaposition has been used; e.g.the description of the Texan ponies in the following terms: “They was colored like parrots and they were quiet as doves, and ere a one of them would kill you quick as a rattlesnake.” The first assertions evoke a beautiful, happy picture of elegance and tranquility, but the third point gives a differentiating ideology that the horses will destroy a human as easily as a rattlesnake. This contradicts this quaint image. The animals being described as “ponies” is ridiculously bizarre in itself since the term “pony” conjures up images of a friendly, soft, likable, and gentle creature, which would be the complete opposite of the wild, violent, and dangerous beasts. (Greiner P.1135)

The second segment of the story describes the events of the following two days where Ratliff, Eck, and Eck’s son meet in Bump Snopes’ shop to address the sale and its implications and to address the degree of Flem’s participation in the scam. Many critics speculate that Flem isn’t to blame since Eck, a relative, bet at the auctions and lost a great deal in the process of reclaiming his horse. Other critics argue that Flem is so dishonest that he would deceive everyone on the planet, along with his own family. The discourse here is characterized by ludicrous exaggeration and inventive incongruity, and it includes several unforgettable instances of Faulkner’s odd and harmonic Southern humor. Mrs. Armstid watches Flem when he returns, anxious for her 5 dollars back. Flem refuses, claiming that he returned the money to the Texan who went missing. Conversely, Mrs. Armstid receives a bag of sweets for her kids from Flem. Flem’s true purpose is to boast to his peers over what a clever guy he is, demonstrating by laying five cents on the table at the shop to make payments for the sweets. The townspeople respond with different degrees of contempt and wonder to Flem’s courage to remove a five-dollar debt with a five-cent bag of candy. The third part of the story fasts forwards to two court cases involving Mrs. Armstid vs. Flem Snopes and Mrs. Tull vs. Eck Snopes, though it was Eck’s horse that seriously wounded Mr. Tull at the bridge.  Throughout the solving process of each case, Faulkner employs considerable ambiguity. According to the judge addressing the women, nobody can claim Flem planned the sale, and nobody can confirm he also has the five dollars. In this case, Astrid doesn’t argue, at the minimum, not for or against Flem. In the meantime, there is no evidence of possession and therefore no responsibility on Eck’s part for Mr. Tull’s injury since the Texan offers Eck his horse for nothing. According to the judge, Mrs. Tull’s sole legal right to land is the horse that created all of the harm from the first instance. Finally, Spotted Horses is a lighthearted but thoughtful story that utilizes wit, cynicism, and literary expression to ponder the essence of life, who is fortunate and who isn’t, and whether people create their luck or whether their futures are determined by mere circumstance. On the one hand, the book’s title’s unpredictable creatures embrace the notion that mankind is better off withdrawing himself to the forces of the world rather than attempting to manipulate them, as Ratliff does to the horses who wreak havoc on his peers’ lives.( Sanderson P.703)

In conclusion, spotted horses is interesting and significant writing whose narrative is based on an old legacy of tall tales and Southwestern comedy, which makes William Faulkner’s piece perhaps popular and symbolic like Mark Twain’s. The exaggeration in Faulkner’s depictions of horses and the overall humorous exaggeration message is derived from this tradition. There have been many critiques of the tale, but the good thing is that as much there is some negative criticism to the book, the positive criticism outweighs the negative. The author William Faulkner utilizes brilliant writing skills based on an old legacy of tall tales and Southwestern comedy, which makes William Faulkner’s piece perhaps popular and symbolic, and historic. The exaggeration in Faulkner’s depictions of horses and the overall humorous exaggeration message is derived from this tradition.

Works cited

Greiner, Donald J. “Universal Snopesism: The Significance of” Spotted Horses.” The English Journal 57.8 (1968): 1133-1137.

Sanderson, James L. “Spotted Horses” and the Theme of Social Evil.” The English Journal 57.5 (1968): 700-704.

Warren, Robert Penn. “William Faulkner.” William Faulkner: Three Decades of Criticism (1943).