Abner Snopes In Barn Burning

His reply is accompanied with a vindictive nature towards anyone who opposes the actions of the court or by extension, him. Therefore, his arrogance and pride restrains him from listening to others point of view. Lastly, despite hearing about the mass opposition and rebellion at the Andover witchcraft trials, Judge Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings and orders Reverend Parris that “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more… Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part.” (Miller 129). Danforth arrogantly waves off the request of postponement made by Hale and Parris. He thinks that the act of postponement of the hangings will raise the issue of his credibility as a judge. Danforth’s pride of his status as a judge denies him from giving it a thought that his actions can lead to the death of innocent lives. When pride and arrogance interferes with ones wisdom the repercussions are often destructive. Judge Danforth proves this through the medium of his actions which lead to the destruction of trustworthiness in the community and brought tragedy to Salem.

In “Barn Burning,” the author, William Faulkner, composes a wonderful story about a poor boy who lives in anxiety, despair, and fear. He introduces us to Colonel Satoris Snopes, or Sarty, a boy who is mature beyond his years. Due to the harsh circumstances of life, Sarty must choose between justice and his family. At a tender age of ten, Sarty starts to believe his integrity will help him make the right choices. His loyalty to family doesn’t allow for him to understand why he warns the De Spain family at such a young age. Faulkner describes how the Snopes family is emotionally conflicted due to Abner’s insecurities, how consequences of a father’s actions can change their lives, and how those choices make Sarty begin his coming of age into

Already, nearly seventy death warrants have been signed, and more will follow if you do not end this madness. At this rate, if the number of the accused continues, the whole town-no, the whole colony-will be facing the noose. Because of these trials, people have the chance to accuse others in revenge or to better themselves. Putnam has been accusing others to gain land, which he takes from the accused. However, Putnam’s status and wealth protects him from being accused. When these trials are over, the only people left will be greedy sinners and murderers. Murderers who knew the innocents they accused would likely be killed. As you are aware, the commandments tell us that we shall not murder. For the sake of our colony’s integrity, you must call these trials off before all the innocents are killed, and the people left living become a

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.

The short story,”Barn Burning”written by William Faulkner is about a 10 year old boy named Sarty, who gets called to the stand of the court; his father, Abner Snopes, is accused of burning a barn down. Sarty knows that his father is guilty of arson and wants justice to be served, but, his father wants him to stay loyal to his family and blood. The conflict of morals vs. family goes on for the entire story,Sarty’s moral beliefs are embedded in justice and peace, while his father wants him to protect his family no matter the circumstances. Literary devices used in the story are symbolism and diction, the symbols of blood and fire being, family and a chain.and being told from the perspective of a timid ten year old boy. One of the major themes present throughout the story is courage, wanting to tell on his father for arson but, being shot down by his intimidating father. William Faulkner illustrates the theme of courage through the use of symbolism and diction

A notable tension that was written about in this document was the cruel and harsh treatment of the accused by the justices. Cary relays that his wife’s treatment was inhumane, physically abusive and demeaning. During testimony, she was asked to stand for a long period with her arms stretched out. Cary’s wife was crying and afraid that she might faint. When Cary asked if he could help support her, “Justice Hathorne replied, she had strength enough to torment those persons, and she should have strength enough to stand.” When Cary spoke out against this treatment, he was told to be silent or that he would be removed from the room. Cary’s wife was later taken down on the floor by one of the witnesses. Cary spoke out on “their inhumane dealings, uttered a hasty speech (that God would take vengeance on them, and desired that God would deliver us out of the hands of unmerciful men)”.

Abner's act of breaking the law begins when he was supposed to be fighting in the Civil War, but instead he stole horses from both sides of the lines. When Abner returned home, he continued his act of breaking the law by committing arson. At the beginning of the story, Abner is in a makeshift courtroom where he is being tried for burning Mr. Harris' barn. There was no evidence to rule against Abner so he was advised to leave the country. "I aim to. I don't figure to stay in a country among people who…" (217). After sly remarks of "barn burner"(218) from a group of people standing near, Abner tells his family to get in the wagon and get ready for travel. Abner and his family traveled to their next house where things got off to a bad start. Just a few days had gone by and Abner took Major DeSpain to court claiming his fine was to high for the damage he did to his rug. The court ruled in DeSpain's favor fining him, "to the amount of ten bushels of corn over and above your contract with him, to be paid to him out of your crop at gathering time" (226), thus setting off Abner's anger. As a result he set out that night and put DeSpain's barn on fire. <br><br>Finally Abner's unchanging character is revealed not only in his role as

William Faulkner some would say was one of the great writers of American literature during the twentieth century. His stories many times had a gothic plot and contained odd or supernatural ideas and characters. He had many notable works, two of which were “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning”. “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning” are similar in the way that William Faulkner portrays the characters and the tone he uses in both.

In "Barn Burning," Abner Snopes, father of Colonel Sartoris, or Sarty, is portrayed as a strong dictatorial figure who lacks the nurturing qualities of a human. Emotionless and physically harmful to his family, Snopes is given the image of a terrible and destructive figure; however, is also thought of as brave in the eyes of his son, giving him sympathy. Influenced by his urge to rebel against class segregation, Abner Snopes is both a tyrant to those around him and a misunderstood, complex character who becomes the power he is trying to destroy. Abner Snopes, although passive and detached in the presence of others, holds a prominent role in the life of Sartoris, affecting his son both physically and physiologically. Snopes can be compared to a strong and violent force of destruction, for he is continuously seeking harmful revenge onto others.

The struggle for Sarty is that he wants desperately to believe in his father’s innocence. But he also knows that the Justice of the Peace’s verdict was not right. He knows what his father has done and he is immensely grateful that he was not forced to testify against him. At this point Sarty is still fighting with himself to remain loyal to his father. He even attacks a “boy half again his size” (Faulkner 6) for calling out “Barn Burner” (Faulkner 6) as they leave the hearing.

In the story of The Trial of Thomas Builds the Fire Thomas is charged for crimes that he did not commit and yet he was still sentenced to two consecutive lifetime sentences “Mr. Builds-the-Fire, you do admit, willingly, that you murdered two soldiers in cold blood and with premeditation?".

actions to show that no one will own or control him. He has no regard

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?

Every person reaches a point in their lives when they must define themselves in relation to their parents. We all come through this experience differently, depending on our parents and the situation that we are in. For some people the experience comes very early in their lives, and can be a significant life changing experience. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” Colonel Sartoris Snopes must decide either to stand with his father and compromise his integrity, or embrace honesty and morality and condemn his family. This is a difficult decision to make, especially for a ten year old boy that has nothing outside of what his father provides. Sarty’s decision to ultimately betray his father is dependent on his observation of Abner’s character

In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters worthy of comparison. Emily Grierson, a recluse from Jefferson, Mississippi, is an important figure in the town, despite spending most of her life in seclusion. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a loud, fiery-tempered man that most people tend to avoid. If these characters are judged by reputation and outward appearance only, the conclusion would be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete opposites. However, despite the external differences, these two characters have surprisingly similar personalities.