Barn Burning Essay

He is even more afraid of losing his father’s trust after Abner hits him “hard but with out heat”(280) not for telling the truth, but for wanting to. Sarty is conscious of the fact that if Abner knew his desire for “truth, justice, he would have hit”(280) him again and that Abner’s recommendation that he “learn to stick to” his “own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you”(280) is more of a threat rather than fatherly advice. Sarty learns to stifle any qualms he has and overlook his own developing morals in order to defend his father’s cold-blooded attacks. In the face of Abner’s “outrage and savagery and lust”(286) and the ever-present conflict these emotional outbursts cause, Sarty’s sense of obligation to his father out weighs his desire to “run on and on and never look back”(286). He hopes being forced out of town will transform the side of Abner that possesses an “inherent [ly] voracious prodigality with material not his own”(279) and he will be satisfied once and for all. As father and son walk within sight of an impressive manor “big as a courthouse”(280) owned by Major de Spain, a wealthy landowner with whom Abner has struck a deal to farm corn on his land, Sarty knows at once that “they are safe from him”(280). His father’s “ravening”(281) envy could not possibly touch these “people whose lives are part of this peace and dignity”(281). But, Abner is seething with “jealous rage”(281) at the sight of the de Spain

The theme of William Faulkner’s Barn Burning was the idea of "the old fierce pull of blood." In Barn Burning the two main characters are the dad, Abner, and the son, Sarty. Abner was a barn burner and Sarty was an accomplice because he always defended his dad due to the theme of “blood and family.” At the beginning of the story, Sarty smells something besides food in the store.

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).

The setting of this story is very important because it gives you a sense of what life was like back during the late 1800s. “Barn Burning” takes place in the south after the civil war. After the civil war, the south was in the period of reconstruction. A lot of the south was destroyed from the war, and it affected everyone in the south from their economy, to their personal lives. Many people lived impoverished like the Snopes family. Abner Snopes holds a lot of resentment because he couldn’t be successful in his life. Instead of changing his life and working hard, he resents everything and everyone around him. This attitude eventually leads to his downfall.

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

“Barn Burning” is a story which was first published in 1939 and later awarded the O. Henry Memorial Award. It was the best short story of the year. William Faulkner, the author, was a creative and innovative writer whose ability to describe a place makes you feel like you are present and experiencing all happenings that take place in the story. Particularly in this short story, he has managed to create the picture of real-life events in the minds of readers while depicting the main theme: constant struggle between the poor and rich.

William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during the Civil War. The main character, Abner Snopes, sharecrops to make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of resentment for wealthy people, he goes and 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.<br><br>First, Abner's unchanging character shows his cold heartedness. After being sentenced to leave the country for burning a man's barn, he shows no emotions to his family. During the story, there was not a time when he apologized or offered a word of encouragement to them. His tone of voice when talking

In William Faulkner’s short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning” the characters are both guilty of committing terrible crimes. However, Miss Emily in “A Rose for Emily” and Abner Snopes in “Barn Burning” are both portrayed very differently from each other. A few things to consider while reading these short stories is how each of these characters is characterized, how the author generates sympathy for these characters, and the order in which the events in these stories occur.

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.

Sarty hears the testimony of the witnesses and he knows the truth. He is torn between adhering to the blood loyalty that his father demands and telling the truth. Sarty wants to do both; but he knows they are complete contradictions. He feels sealed like those cans (Shmoop Editorial Team).

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.

The main character and protagonist in this story is a boy named Colonel Sartoris. In this story, Sarty is faced with the decision of either going along with the views and actions of his morally challenged father or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away and leaving his family and his pain behind.

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

He does not have that fierce pull of blood bringing him down. However, this feeling of Sartys does not last and reality rushes back. That “fear and despair and the old grief of blood” (Faulkner 179) come back to him, unwelcomed by Sarty. After the court hearing, Sarty receives a beating from a kid his own size because of his actions of his father.

The story opens with a young Colonel Sartoris Snopes crouching on a keg in the back of a store, which apparently also happens to be where they hold the town court as well. Sarty hears the justice of the peace (who he calls the Justice), ask Mr. Harris for proof that his father burned down the man’s barn. Mr.