In “Barn Burning,” Abner is described as stiff, wolf-like, and without heat because of his coldness and bitterness toward society in which he was part of during the time of the War Between the States. The main character is Abner Snopes who sharecrops to make a living for his family; in his story, Faulkner describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during that particular time.
When described as stiff, we see Abner’s abruptness and coldness towards his family as well as others in his community. Abner’s authorative figure makes his coldness more threatening and his patriarchal figure puts more force into his coldness. Faulkner portrays him as wolf-like and without heat as well; this description shows us that
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From the reading, it seemed that Abner did not like his sharecropper living because he believed that this kind of life makes him exactly like the slaves owned by the rich and wealthy--and his resentment comes from there. As a result of his resentment, Abner burns barns for vengeance.
What he did to the DeSpain’s rug is an example of his coldness. Abner forced his way into the DeSpain’s mansion and dirties their rug with his manure-ridden boots. After Abner dirtied the DeSpain rug, he was told to clean it. Instead of cleaning the rug, Abner further dirtied it with a rock which further ruined the rug. His coldness also came to play when he demanded that his daughters clean the rug in pots of lye and then hang up the rug so that it can dry. Later, Abner was charged with the damages he did to the DeSpain’s rug. The evidence of this event proved to Abner that the social system of society only works in behalf of the wealthy. This evidence is supported in the social system of Capitalism we see today. “Under this system, the means for producing and distributing goods (the land, factories, technology, transport system, etc.) are owned by a small minority of people, the rich and the wealthy.” (What is Capitalism?--worldsocialism.org) These groups of people as we know it are part of the capitalist class. In knowing this kind of evidence, Abner
Bragg’s dejected tone when addressing his father’s latest demeanor is satirical as the Father’s past behavior is anything but celebratory. The author’s conscious decision to compare his memories of the Father to that of a “man” and a “monster” depicts the two emotions Bragg intended to invoke from his readers through the use of tone: contentment and fear. He wanted his readers to share his contentment with his father’s past demeanor, though distressing. In contrast, Bragg hoped his readers share his fear of his father’s past demeanor, despite his innate urge
William Faulkner elected to write “Barn Burning” from his young character Sarty’s perspective because his sense of morality and decency would present a more plausible conflict in this story. Abner Snopes inability to feel the level of remorse needed to generate a truly moral predicament in this story, sheds light on Sarty’s efforts to overcome the constant “pull of blood”(277) that forces him to remain loyal to his father. As a result, this reveals the hidden contempt and fear Sarty has developed over the years because of Abner’s behavior. Sarty’s struggle to maintain an understanding of morality while clinging to the fading idolization of a father he fears, sets the tone
Another important factor for the substandard conditions of sharecroppers was their significant lack of food. Having to survive off of low supplies of food is harmful to anyone, but to people who are lacking in so many other areas, it could be devastating. Sharecroppers everywhere were already being cheated of how much of the seasons harvest was actually theirs, in addition to the impractical rules of what they could and could not own while they lived on the landowners farm land. “Nutrition standards of sharecroppers were already low,” and these regulations increased them (Walker 37). Many sharecroppers across the south “were not even allowed to have gardens, cows, or chickens” (Walker 18). Most of the time, the only field crops that sharecroppers could have as their own food
There are many consequences to bad choices in life. Abner Snopes makes many decisions that hurt him, his family, and whoever may have tried to do him wrong. He is jealous of the families that he sharecrops for, and is angry for not being able to be like them “Faulkner’s story tells of the emotional distancing of young Satoris “Sarty” Snopes from his father when he realizes the toll that his father’s penchant for burning the barns of wealthy landowners has on its victims” ( Krstovic 30). Society has basically told him he is lower class due to his resentments of “ Abner’s rootless-ness, his continual wandering from place to place, and his contempt for tradition and order” (Stein 732). His thoughts of them being superior to him bring out feelings of rage and inferiority. As Abner is angry about being accused of burning down a barn, being driven from the last town they lived in, and having total disdain for his new land owner, he chooses to take that anger out on the de Spain family by burning down their barn. Abner’s choice to have no regard for others, gives him bestial like qualities which is evident when he “steps in fresh [horse] droppings” (Faulkner 1960).
William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” takes a lot of real life cultural values and ways of southern life in the late 1800s. Many of those values and ways are expressed by sharecropping and tenant farming.
If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a father¡¦s teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major idea through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning. Both stories affect my thinking of life.
The main character, Abner Snopes, sharecrops to make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of resentment for wealthy people, he burns their barns to get revenge. Abner’s character over the course of the story is unchanging in that he is cold hearted, lawless, and violent.
Normally in life, you look up to your father to be the care taker and to encourage you to make your own decisions on what is right and what is wrong. You figure your father should have your best interest at heart and to show compassion for you. In William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning," Abner is the opposite of the normal father figure you would see. Rather than encouraging his son, Sarty, to make his own decisions on what is right and what is wrong, Abner wants Sarty to lie for him to protect his freedom, so Abner won’t get caught for burning barns. Abner forces fear into Sarty to make sure he will lie for him
The theme of William Faulkner's Barn Burning is Colonel Sartoris Snope's desire to break away from the oppressive conditions of his family life. He is pulled between his family and his morality. In this essay, I will discuss Sarty's struggle between the two sides of his conflict and the point at which it becomes resolved.
“Barn Burning” first appeared in print in Harper’s Magazine in 1939 (Pinion). It is a short story by William Faulkner which depicts a young boy in crisis as he comes to realize the truth about his father’s pyromania. Faulkner takes the reader inside the boy’s life as he struggles to remain loyal to his unstable father. In the end the boy’s courage and sense of justice wins and he not only walks away from his father’s iron clad control over his life, but he is able to warn his father’s next victim. To understand how this boy could make such a courageous, difficult decision we must review the important events in the story and the effect they have on him.
actions to show that no one will own or control him. He has no regard
Loyalty is a powerful force. Oftentimes it blindsides us and causes us to support things we would not normally. Even do things that we despise. William Faulkner’s Barn Burning illustrates just such a case. Presenting a young boy’s progression from a loyal child, to an independent man as a conflict of loyalty and morals. This boy, Sarty, battles his own forming morals versus his father’s decisions, which leads to his development from child to adult. Faulkner writes his characters progression in five stages: blind loyalty, repressed disagreements, open questioning, and attempted reasoning with his father, before finally taking action to contradict his father.
At first glance, the story “Barn burning” seems just to be about a tyrannical father and a son who is in the grips of that tyranny. I think Faulkner explores at least one important philosophical question in this story were he asks at what point should a person make a choice between what his parent(s) and / or family believes and his own values?
Influences from the Great Depression are evident in the racist attitude and views of Abner Snopes. Poor, white families during the 1930s struggled with their place in the overall social structure, a trait mirrored in “Barn Burning.” During his first trial, Abner attempts to refute the testimony of a black man, discrediting him because of his race. Later, it is revealed that Abner used this same person to initiate the first barn burning (Faulkner 480). Abner’s willingness to betray and slander the black man only highlights his contempt for the African-American populace. In this instance, Abner mimics the attitudes of white farmers in rural America during the height of the Great Depression.
There are several ways in which William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" is indicative of literary modernism. It depicts a relevant historical period and is part of the frontiersman literary tradition (Gleeson-White, 2009, p. 389). The author utilizes a number of purely literary approaches that were innovative for the time period in which the tale was originally published (in 1932), such as employing a young child as a narrator complete with misspelled words and broken, puerile thoughts. However, the most eminent way in which this story embraces the tradition of literary modernism is in the author's rendition of dynamic social conventions that were in a state of flux at the time of the writing. Specifically, his treatment of race is the inverse of how race is generally portrayed in American literature prior to the early part of the 20th century. An analysis of this integral component of "Barn Burning" reveals that Faulkner's unconventional rendering of African American characters in a desirable social status particularly as compared to that of the Snopes clan is crucial to this tale's inclusion as part of the tradition of literary modernism.