Snoats, Evelle & Gale. (Raising Arizona), a pair of brothers that tunnel their way out of prison and rise from the mud in quite dramatic fashion. Former associates of Hi, the pair travel to his house expecting shelter. Gale and Evelle find Hi a changed man with a wife and a freshly abducted infant. Ed tells the two they can’t stay, but they break down Hi’s resolve and he agrees to let them stay for a couple of days. Naturally, the Snoats eat all of Hi’s food and pester him with requests to help them complete various criminal activities. Later, they overhear the conversation between Hi and his boss Glen, in which Glen reveals he knows the identity of the infant and then blackmail’s Hi. The brothers decide to betray Hi. When Hi returns inside, they jump him, tie him up, and kidnap the baby to turn in for the reward. The brothers proceed with their master plan and rob a ‘hayseed’ bank with the child in the car. Forgetting the child at the bank, Gale and Evelle are incapacitated by an anti-theft dye canister which explodes in their car as they flee the scene of the crime.

The Snoats brothers function as a temptation mechanism for Hi. Once they break out of jail, they expect Hi, as a friend, to provide them with shelter and help them in their endeavors. Hi has turned the other cheek, he tries to start a family with Ed, who doesn’t want the brothers to stay with them, but the Snoats continually rag him about his change in lifestyle. The brothers guilt Hi into letting them stay and continue requesting his help in their criminal schemes. When Hi declines, the Snoats respond indignantly, wondering why Hi would ever give up a life of crime. They represent a lifestyle of sin; one Hi is trying to leave behind (besides the whole baby abduction thing). Every moment the two are with Hi, they tempt him. Their presence alone reminds Hi of his sinful past and entices him to return to his roots, to abandon the new life he has made. Hi eventually gives in, if only partially. He does rob a store, but he only takes diapers for Junior. After a ridiculous chase sequence, Ed rescues Hi from his pursuers. Ed and the Snoats brothers represent the forces of good and evil locked in a tug of war for Hi. Ed liberates Hi from the consequences of his sins and provides him with an alternative to evil while the Snoats bait him to join them in their secular pursuits.

The Snoats dramatic rise from the mud after escaping the prison symbolizes their connection to secular pursuits. Evelle and Gale think only of their physical needs, food, shelter, and money, and care nothing for improving their souls. After Hi resists their request for assistance in the robbery, they turn on him for personal gain. The Snoats showcase the fickle selfish nature of evil and its tendency to consume those who stand in its way. Hi wouldn’t participate, so he suffers the consequences and becomes fair game.

The Snoats reap what they sow and end up covered in dye, stranded without Junior or an escape route. Hi, siding with Ed, battles the Lone Biker and emerges victorious with Junior. Hi and Ed return Junior and return home from their escapade. Hi dreams of the Snoats reforming in prison and of a large family visiting an elderly couple. The Coens wrap up the movie nicely for the Snoats, simultaneously condemning their actions while allowing that anyone can change. The Snoats represent the struggle of humanity to choose between good and evil. While they portray evil for the majority of the movie, even pressuring the reformed Hi to join their robbery, they eventually choose to leave their wicked ways behind them, albeit while in prison.

Throughout the course of the movie, The Snoats take on a number of symbolic themes. When they try to tempt Hi, they symbolize the temptation of secular life as well as the evil associated with that lifestyle. Covered in mud, the brothers represent humanity’s connection with the earth and the sinful tendencies associated with earthly existence. When their plan fails, the Snoats serve as an example for the fate which befalls those who sin. Finally, in their repentance the Snoats embody redemption and the ability of any man, regardless of his past, to turn a new leave.

Coen regular John Goodman plays Gale while William Forsythe portrays Evelle.