Barn Burning: Family vs. Morality
The theme of Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is Sarty Snopes's desire to break away from the oppressive conditions of his family life. Sarty gains this freedom when he decides to warn the de Spains because his father's violation of his own sort of morality liberates him from what he calls the "pull of blood," or duty to his family.
The narrator describes Sarty's father, Abner Snopes, as such: "There was something about his wolf-like independence and even courage . . . which impressed strangers, as if they got . . . a feeling that his ferocious conviction in the rightness of his own actions would be of advantage to all whose interest lies with his" (218-19). Sarty believed in this conviction of his father's. He was prepared to defend his father at the first trial: "He aims for me to lie, he thought, and I will have to do hit," and he fights the boy twice his size who calls out, "Barn burner!" (217-18). Still, he hopes that the fires will end, thinking, "Maybe he's done satisfied now," but when Abner begins to set ablaze his next barn, Sar...
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?
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, shares the ropes to make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of resentment for wealthy people, he burns their barns to get revenge.
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 for a chain of events that results in his liberation from Abner’s destructive defiance-but at a costly price.
In Barn Burning, Sartys father enjoys setting fires to burn down others properties. Sarty faces the problem of loyalty and honesty. On one hand, he wants to be loyal to his father; on the other hand, he does not endorse his fathers behavior. His father teaches him: Youre getting to be a man. You got to learn to do it.
In “Barn Burning” the setting is a time when people drove horse wagons and the workingmen were generally farmers. The major character in this story is Colonel Sartoris Snopes, called “Sarty” by his family who is a ten-year-old boy. In the beginning, Sarty is portrayed as a confused and frightened young boy. He is in despair over the burden of doing the right thing or sticking by his family, as his father states,” You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you.”
"Thailand: Trafficking In Women And Children." Women 's International Network News 29.4 (2003): 53. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 3 Nov.
When an individual refuses to eat enough food to maintain a healthy body weight, he or she is dealing with a serious illness known as anorexia nervosa. People with this illness maintain strict control over food intake. About ninety percent of anorexia nervosa cases are women, particularly teenagers. (Alters & Schiff, 2003, p.37). For every one in one hundred that develops this illness, it most commonly evolves in their high school years. The symptoms of anorexia nervosa are:
The World Book Encyclopedia defines anorexia as, "one who avoids food for psychological reasons". Most "experts" believe that those who suffer from anorexia are starving themselves to avoid growing into adults. It is also common knowledge among these experts that anorexics "want to gain attention and a sense of being special". People say that anorexia doesn't stop at affecting the victim at hand; instead, it surpasses the anorexic. Which means that anorexia affects the personality of the person; that it branches off to affect other parts of that anorexics life. Body image obsession, self-devotion, attention grabbing, selfishness, are all attributes which keenly describe anorexia in the eyes of the media and most hospital institutions. It is that view point which affect modern societies view eating disorders, and anorexia in particular.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a fear of being overweight which results in becoming exceedingly thin. (guide) People with anorexia go to an extreme in abusing the way they diet, over exercise, and purge. When looking for symptoms in anorexia it is slightly hard to tell, for many times people keep their disorder a secret. Once someone starts undergoing this process, people sometimes gain weight rather than lose, which also initiates them to lose more weight. During the period of growth and maturation, anorexia leads to somatic and psychological development and which leads to serious health issues. (journal research) Although many don’t see what is happening, over time they are sev...
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Bruch, Hilde M.D. The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978.
...eard the gunfire, no longer in terror and fear, "Father. My Father he thought." Sarty tried to think good thoughts about his father thinking, "he was brave!" He served as a solder under Colonel Sartoris in the war! When the morning sun came up, he was finally on his own to be his own man, free to make his own individual decisions without worrying about what his father would do to him. It was from Sarty's dilemma of family loyalty and the desire to please his father that kept him from doing the right things. Was his father so bitter due to experiences he had during the Civil War ? Was it society's fault for what happened to his father? Was Abner just born with his us against them attitude? These are all questions that Faulkner leaves with us after reading the "Barn Burning." and is part of that fire in the back of our minds that we will never be able to put out..
Anorexia nervosa is a specific disorder defined in DSM IV. Several classifications must be met for a diagnosis of anorexia to be made. There must be a refusal by the patient to maintain a healthy body weight for their age and height. This behavior must eventually lead to a weight loss in which the body weight falls to less then 85% of the persons ideal body weight. Or the patient can refuse to gain any weight during periods of growth. In wome...
Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
Eating disorders often develop in adolescence because it is a time of numerous changes including sexual, physical, and emotional ones. Rachel Bryant-Waugh and Bryan Lask (2004) conclude that with adolescent changes, weight fluctuations often occur and many individuals may not feel ready to handle the differences (p.38). The inability to deal with change during this time often leads to anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating.