Loyalty In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

Loyalty should be considered a quality that is supposed to keep family ties together and use the shield of bravery to protect it. It is proven that devotion in families of today, are lost and bravery shows no character in a person. It is a personality that each individual has in them only to be used in the most courteous way and should not be used selfishly. Loyalty cannot be purchased and must be earned. If it used in the wrong way, it can climax to a disaster.

“Barn Burning”, a story written by William Faulkner that describes the way a boy decides to “betray” his dad by turn him in because of his crimes. Sartoris, who is just starting to see the difference between right and wrong, has been covering up his dad’s crimes and helping him to commit them. Mr. Snopes, Sartori’s dad, expresses deliberately his methods of making justices with his own hands, and not only that, but also forcing his son to keep his loyalty to him and his family. Eventually, Sartoris starts to analyze the severity of his dad’s actions and choose not to help him anymore in his attempt to burn the second barn belonging to his new boss, De Spain. Although, Faulkner tries to present a situation to think more about our actions, it doesn’t seem that way for many readers. For instance, Jane Hiles in her critical response, called “Blood Ties in Barn Burning”, to Faulkner’s work, states that his intention wasn’t to recognize Sartori’s decision, but to support his dad’s beliefs of the responsibility of being loyal to his family. As an evidence, she presents an Interview in Japan directed to Faulkner in which he talks about clannishness as a way for people to defend their “blood” from external injustices.

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

One of the first notable feature in “Desiree’s Baby is the naturalistic feeling weaved throughout the entire story. Desiree a young woman is damned by her own society just because of her possible African heritage. At this time in America having one-eighth African heritage was enough to put you on the bottom of the social caste system, especially if you were a female.

William Faulkner has said that when you are writing a novel, there is a lot of room to add some fluff and be a bit careless with your ideas, but when writing a short story there is no room for “trash”, as he calls it. However, this can be a tough thing to do when you have a lot to say. Even Faulkner could have difficulty following along with his beliefs. After having read and considered A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning, I do believe that William Faulkner has been true to his beliefs in both of these short stories.

“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.

Sarty never justifies his father’s actions and is aware that if he allows things to remain the same, he will become a product of his environment. This is his motive for warning Abner’s next barn burning victim and his chance to move on with his life.

Sarty disapproves of the barn burning and knows that everyone is just looking for the truth and for the justice system to exact wrongs done. When the first barn burning scene happens the African American who runs to tell the owner therefore Sarty didn’t have to decide whether to tell the owner or let it burn. In the second barn burning there is a lack of an African American and Sarty has to make his own decisions. This barn burning Sarty turns against his father. The quote, “If I had said they wanted only truth, justice, he would have hit me again”(Faulkner 3). When his father was talking to him it was obvious that Sarty went into deep thought about this. He was clearly conflicted as what to do. When he finally told the Peace of the Justice the truth Abner disapproved. Abner’s as well had a very different idea of what Justice was. The moment when Sarty finally began to question is quoted here, “I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again”(Faulkner 9). Sarty starting to think about this more seriously shows he has become a man. Men make their own decisions. Sarty is young but all that he is put through is the reason why he

Sarty must choose to either follow the law or to choose the same path his father

In William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning,” the main character, Sartoris Snopes, is a ten year old boy forced to make the transition from childhood to adulthood at a young age. Sartoris is the son to a very domineering, violent father named Abner. Abner’s way of revenge on those who do him wrong is setting their barns on fire. He burns their barns instead of their houses because that is where their profit from crops and livestock comes from. Sartoris feels pressured by his father to defend him even though he knows it is wrong. At the end of the story, Sartoris makes the courageous decision to break away from his father’s control by letting their landowner know Abner is planning to burn down his barn. He is then forced to enter the world

Sarty is saved from testifying at the hearing when neither Mr. Harris nor the Justice of the Peace can bring themselves to make him turn on his father. Without eye witness testimony the case is dismissed, but the Justice of the Peace has demanded Abner leave town.

This first step in Sarty’s change is shown at the very start of Barn Burning. His father, Abner Snopes, is on trial accused of burning a barn. The trial is told from the perspective of Abner’s son, Sarty. As he observes the trial Sarty mentally calls the accuser “his father’s enemy” (par. 1). Although Sarty immediately corrects himself and reclassifies the accuser as both his and Snopes enemy, Sarty’s estrangement from his father’s ideals first starts here. Because of his disgust with himself, I can only assume that before Sarty has blindly followed his father. Consequently, Sarty still fights to maintain this loyalty. As displayed when Sarty is asked to testify. Knowing that his father would want him to lie, Sarty is filled with “frantic grief and despair” (par. 1). He mentally

Barn Burning is a short story by William Faulkner. The story takes place around 1895 in a country store. Abner Snopes was accused of buring his barn to the ground and blames a black man for the fire. He was not believed because it was not any proof. Abner’s son Colonel Sartoris Snopes was asked if his dad set the fire and he said nothing.

Psychologist Sigmund Freud is credited with saying, “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” Unfortunately, not every child has that need fulfilled. Such is the circumstance with Sarty in William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning.” Abner, Sarty’s father, selfishly neglects the nurturing of his offspring in order to carry out his own dishonorable deeds. Sarty’s mother, for reasons of her own, is unable to offer any significant maternal protection. As such, Sarty is left floundering—should he follow in his father’s disgraceful footsteps, hoping for approval that will lead to paternal protection, or should

The short story, a “Barn Burning” by Faulkner, is very descriptive and detailed down to the smallest things. I think Faulkner did this in order to really highlight each of the characters in the story with clear visuals. Strangely though, Faulkner brings up Sarty’s sisters ever so casually throughout the entire story, but the way he is describing these girls is rather odd. Within the first two pages of the short story, Faulkner refers to the girls as “hulking” (802), but he refers to their mother and aunt as dressed in “calico and sunbonnets.” These two descriptions of these four people are on completely different sides of the spectrum; the sisters seem to have very masculine features throughout the entire story, but what does this exactly mean?