Barn Burning by William Faulkner

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

The tone used in “Barn Burning” represents William Faulkner's unique style. For example, one of the key literary devices that Faulkner uses throughout the story is syntax. His sentences seem to be unbelievably long and tends to use very descriptive sentences. However, these lengthy sentences though sometimes can be confusing and hard to interpret. Because of this he Faulkner does a great job at setting the feel of the story for the reader through the use of tone. In “Barn Burning”, there is a sense of fear and obedience. The father is always battling a war that takes place inside of him both physically and mentally. However, he is so hostile and destructive that he ends up pulling his family into this with him and they all become fearful as

Both of these stories feature moral decisions as salient points throughout. In “Barn Burning”, Abner Snopes’s sense of morality has been compromised by his experiences during the Civil War. He now expresses and identifies himself through his violent acts, i.e., burning barns, stealing horses, and living off of other people. His son, Sartoris Snopes, has the moral decision of whether to be

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

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.

developing a mind and will of his own. He is no longer unperceptively loyal to his father.

In Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Arthur “Boo” Radley is portrayed as misunderstood, brave, and later on caring. The purpose of the character Arthur “Boo” Radley shows us not to judge a book by its cover. This novel follows siblings Scout and Jem; along with their dad, Atticus Finch. They are a family that lives in Maycomb County. Atticus is a successful lawyer, therefore, he is always busing. Scout and Jem spend most of their summer spying on their neighbor Boo Radley.

“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.

The works "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner and "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck at first glance may seem to have no connection, but in spite of different plot they focus on similar ideas.

His father is not the average role model for his son. He is dishonest, a bully, controlling, and so on. You would think that his father would have his best interest at heart but it is the complete opposite. He wants to use Sarty as a shield, where he has his son to fabricate the truth about him burning down the barns. It shows that Abner only cares about not getting caught than how his son feels about lying for him.

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

William Faulkner is a writer from Mississippi. Faulkner is a very famous writer with most of his most famous works being short stories. Two of his most popular short stories are “A rose for Emily” along with “Barn Burning”. Faulkner has many other popular works, but “Barn Burning” was one of his well-known stories because of the many different of elements of literature in which Faulkner chose to include. Faulkner was known as a writer who could properly convey many different elements of literature, such as symbolism, conflict, tone, and many other elements of plot within his stories. In “Barn Burning”, William Faulkner most commonly uses symbolism and conflict to emphasize the obstacles that Sarty has to face in his youth years.

Born in 1897, William Faulkner was born into a traditional southern family in Mississippi. Throughout his career, Faulkner chronicled the effects of the Great Depression in the postbellum South with his short stories and novels. Following an era of excess and luxury, the Great Depression revolutionized the life of Americans living in the southern states. The economic turmoil brought on by the recession increased existing racial tensions and heightened the disparity between the upper and middle classes. Although it takes place approximately forty-five years prior, allusions to the Great Depression can be seen throughout William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” in the racial and social clashes between Abner and the surrounding community, along with the lifestyle of the Snopes family.

One of the reasons Sarty does not leave in the beginning is that his father looks frightening. In the quote, “…the stiff and implacable limp of the figure which was not dwarfed by the house…,” Sarty’s father is being described as big compared to Sarty (Faulkner 1959). Since Sarty’s father looks big to Sarty, he fears his father. Abner, Sarty’s father, is being compared to tin in the quote, “…a shape black, flat, and bloodless as though cut from tin in the iron folds of the frockcoat which had not been made for him, the voice harsh like tin and without heat like tin…,” (1958). The quote says that Abner is bloodless, or lifeless, like tin, and his voice is harsh and without heat like tin. Abner talks to Sarty like he is commanding him.