Sartoris Snopes In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

In “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, Sartoris Snopes is faced with the issue of doing what he thinks is right for society, or allowing his father to continue doing what he knows is wrong. Most people are infused with a sense of familial moral obligation, and with characterization, the effects of sharecropping, and symbolism, Faulkner shows how the right choice is not always the easy choice when it comes to choosing between your family and society.
Faulkner’s use of indirect characterization shows how the characters feel through their thoughts and actions. Abner is a violent and influential figure that dislikes upper class society. Although he cannot fully develop an intelligent thought about it, he knows he is part of an unfair sharecropping

system—a social injustice brought onto him by the wealthy Southern aristocrats.

He knows he cannot get out of it, and it frustrates him. Because of his frustration with the upper class, he crosses boundaries and takes his anger out on everyone around him. His violent tendencies give him control over his family. He hits Sarty because he almost told about the barn, and, in a tone “still without heat or anger” (482), explains that family is the only thing that will stick with you. Faulkner writes, “[d]on’t you know all they wanted was a chance to get at me because they knew I had them beat?” (482). He thinks he is beating the people that “own [him] body and soul” (483) by damaging their property. This immature and vengeful mindset causes Sarty to struggle with an internal conflict of choosing his family or doing what is right for society. He associates violence with adulthood, because he, like Ab, is uneducated and cannot explain his feelings and reactions. He does have a sense of moral

righteousness, which becomes apparent after he sees the de Spain mansion. According to literary critic Karl F. Zender, “[t]his truth, this justice, this vision of Sarty’s future resembles Sarty’s own naive hope that the de Spain mansion might embody a peace and dignity from social and economic inequalities and from the rage that accompanies them” (2). Sarty’s vision of what is good is based on the stable, upper class, which he views as an ordered society.
The effects of sharecropping post-Civil War on poor white Southern families can be detrimental.

Ab’s anger comes from a frustration with the upper class and their unfair sharecropping system, leaving his family subject to his emotions. According to literary critic Irving Howe: “[a]fter its defeat in the Civil War, the South could not participate fully and freely in the ‘normal’ development of American society—that is, industrialism and large-scale capitalism arrived there later’ (566). Because of this setback, poor families in the South engaged in tenant farming, and were under the control of wealthy families. Ab is not fully aware that he is a victim of “economic oppression” (DeMott 2), although he has somewhat of an understanding about the relationship between money, labor, and the upper class. He knows he is stuck in a corrupted system. Literary critic Benjamin DeMott writes, “[w]e know that his hatred of the planters with whom he enters into sharecropping agreements repeatedly issues in acts of wanton destruction” (1). He is somewhat aware that the upper class is wealthy from other people’s labor, even though he is unable to form a fully developed thought about it: “[he has] an undeveloped mind—aware of the weight of an immense unfairness… and yet unable to move forward from either awareness to anything approaching rational protest” (2). While he is aware of the social injustice, he makes no attempt at changing it or acting rationally about it; instead, he is vengeful.

DeMott writes, “[f]or Ab Snopes the only principle lending significance to his war with the de Spains of this world is that of blood loyalty” (2). Even though he distrusts his family, he turns to them for help against the Southern aristocrats that own him, and while Sarty wants to be on his father’s side, his perspective of the de Spain mansion makes him realize he really just wants peace. Sarty hopes that his father will change and his life will be peaceful, and from this hope he has already subconsciously chosen society over his family.
The symbolism represents the characters’ mental and emotional progression (and in Ab’s case, a lack thereof) through the story. It becomes clear throughout the story that Sarty’s moral integrity is maturing. He goes from thinking about his father’s enemies as his enemies (Faulkner 480), to hoping his father’s enemies can change him and make him peaceful (Zender 2). Meanwhile, Ab’s thought process is quite the opposite. There are several instances where he crosses boundaries and disrespects the people who are giving him a place to live. He steps in horse poop on the way to the de Spain mansion, which “could have [been] avoided by a simple change of stride” (484). Abner ruining Major de Spain’s rug shows his feelings of inferiority because de Spain is wealthy and Ab is not. Since he immediately starts ruining things as soon as he arrives, it shows he has no intention of respecting the man he thinks owns him. Another way he crosses and disrespects boundaries is with fire. The fires he starts are symbolic of his internal rage, and by burning down barns, he believes he is tearing down the border between the rich and the poor. The barns are the center of operations for farms, it is their bank, and destroying their mode of income is his only way to feel in control since he knows he cannot completely control his family. Faulkner writes, “[y]ou’re getting to be a man… You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any to stick to you” (482). At the de Spain farm, Ab tries to keep control of Sarty by making Lennie hold him because he knows he will tell about the barn and betray his own family. Sarty struggles while his mother holds him, but “[t]hen he was free” (490). Sarty breaking free of his mother’s grasp is representative of him breaking away from his family. He finally realizes that his moral obligation is to society and what is right.