Smart White Trash in the Snopes Trilogy William Faulkner's three novels, called the Snopes Trilogy, immerse the reader in the deepest, darkest realms of human spirit. The depth of these novels caused the immediate rejection of any preconceptions I had about Faulkner and his writings. His novels no longer seemed like simple stories describing the white trash living in the artificial county of Yoknapatawpha in the Deep South. The seemingly simple and simple-minded characters of the Snopes family, when examined closely, reveal all the greed, cunning and brilliance of the human heart and spirit. The means by which the Snopes family lives, the means by which they survive, lead the reader to contemplate the line between survival and theft, between necessity and evil. Is it wrong for a greedy person to manipulate another greedy person, using their own greed against them? Can evil engulf itself, devouring a villain through another villain? The Snopes trilogy reveals the all-consuming effect of deception combined with ambition and shows the genius of the human spirit despite an outward disposition that seems to deny all intelligence. Flem Snopes intrigued me from the beginning of the trilogy in The Hamlet. His simple appearance, slow, methodical movements, and lack of speech only added to his mystery and intensity. Flem's exterior also fooled Jody Varner, who said, "His face was as blank as a pan of raw dough" (22). Little did he know that Flem would later replace him at his own store, causing Varner's plan to stop the Snopes from burning down his barns to explode. Flem's outward appearance is probably his most valuable survival gift. His crude middle of paper facade......sees others as a means of survival. Being a Snopes, he was raised to succeed in the face of evil. It's the only way he knows. Either Flem has no idea that he destroys others, or he's been taught not to care. Flem has hardened; he doesn't even see the evil in his actions. Clearly, Flem has no remorse for his sinful actions or the destruction of others. For him, he just survives. Faulkner adds another question to today's morality. Is a person guilty if he does not know he is sinning? Flem never thinks twice, never hesitates, never regrets any of his actions. So how does he face his conscience? He doesn't do it. He doesn't realize that what he's doing is wrong; he therefore feels no guilt. Flem lives, survives and thrives the only way he knows how. Works Cited: Faulkner, William. The Snopes trilogy. New York: Random House, 1957.