Barn Burning Research Paper

920 Words2 Pages

Befkadu Meshesha
9 September 2014
English 120
Section 50408
Literary Research Paper
Conflicts in the Short Story “Barn Burning”
Making the right choice is not always easy. Sometimes the choices are equally important or choosing one may come with irreversible consequences. The conflict in the short story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner is very challenging. The conflict that the main character in the story, Sartorius Snopes (Sarty) goes through, is more than a simple moral dilemma. As he was standing in the court before the judge, he was battling with the idea of who he is and what he must do. At a young age he is forced to make a hard choice. Sarty knows that his father, Abner, is guilty; however, there was no evidence to convict him except …show more content…

Abner’s anger and Sarty’s moral dilemma were not resolved.
After they settled in the new town, Abner got back into his old habit of instigating problems with the Snopes family. Abner’s view of the landowner, Major DeSpain, is very contemptuous. In contrast, Sarty’s view of the new environment seems very optimistic, and he was ready to start life afresh.
Getting away from the first crime did not teach Abner a lesson, and he decided to destroy DeSpain’s rug on purpose. The only lesson he learned was that Sarty might not be onboard with his crime. Abner’s self-destructive behavior started coming to the surface when Major DeSpain asked Abner to fix the rug. He decided to ruin the rug even more. After seeing the rug, DeSpain decided to get compensation instead. This escalated the situation, and as a result, Abner decided to sue DeSpain.
The court hearing experience brings Sarty a lot of painful memories. The conflict worsens and tensions start to develop. Abner did not agree with the verdict, and he did not want to pay DeSpain any compensation. Instead he decided to burn DeSpain’s …show more content…

"Go." …(Faulkner 198).
This is more than Sarty’s conscious can handle.
Sometimes the question of doing right and following our conscience comes with great consequences and a moral dilemma. This dilemma sometimes brings the option to run away and never look back. Faced with this type of dilemma, we all come to the point where running away from making this decision is the best solution because either choice is agonizingly painful. Sarty was faced with this third option as he was running to the market to buy oil for his father so that he could burn the DeSpain barn.
Sarty thinking in his heart “…. I could keep on, he thought. I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again. Only I can't. I can't, the rusted can in his hand now, the liquid sploshing in it as he ran back to the house and into it, into the sound of his mother's weeping in the next room, and handed the can to his father…”
(Faulkner 2).
Running away is not the solution when a person is faced with two undesirable choices. As Sarty was covered in oil, which would make him an accomplice to the crime about to happen, his conscience caused him to make a difficult decision that changed his life

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