Loyalty vs. Righteousness in William Faulkner’s Short Story Barn Burning

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The term “blood brothers” usually refers to two or more males who accept each other and have decided to create a bond by fusing one another’s blood together; this would mean that these males chose to be bonded. But when it comes to ones own bloodline, it is not possible to choose ones parents. For this reason, one must learn to analyze what is right and wrong, even if it’s not something the parent(s) want him to believe. In William Faulkner’s short story Barn Burning, loyalty versus righteousness is one of the struggles in the father-son relationship between Abner and his youngest son Sarty.

Once a child encounters a situation that makes him doubt the things he has been taught or has seen, the child will then recall the first time he learned it; this usually roots back to the parents. When one is taught something opposite of what he knew, he can easily formulate his own reasoning and decide which side to support; this is called formulating an opinion. As opinions are formed, decisions are made- now the process of bildungsroman has commenced. In Barn Burning, Sarty faces the trouble...

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