Unnamed Boy Narrator
Text:
Character Key:
Display Name:
Unnamed Boy Narrator
Sort Name:
Unnamed Boy Narrator
Race:
White
Gender:
Male
Class:
Poor White
Rank:
Major
Vitality:
Alive
First Mentioned:
Narrator:
First Person
Biography:
One of many of Faulkner's "boy" narrators, this twelve-year-old son of tenant farmers is probably an adult when he tells this story about how Pat Stamper bested both his "Pap" and "Mammy." Although he is a sympathetic companion to his father, he is also a careful reporter and analyst of Pap's behavior. At least from his older perspective, he can see Pap's weaknesses for horse- and mule-trading, and for alcohol as well. He tells this story in a vernacular dialect that is often eloquent, though also characterized by the racist language and biases he has learned from his surroundings.
Note:
An earlier version of "Fool About a Horse" has the boy "Quentin" re-telling V. K. Surratt's story to his Grandfather and Doc Peabody. (Uncollected Stories, 684-85). Faulkner further revised the story when he had V. K. Ratliff retell it in <em>The Hamlet<em>, to explain how Ab Snopes has become "plumb curdled" after his disastrous journery to and from Jefferson.
Individual or Group:
Individual
Character changes class in this text:
digyok:node/character/11222