The bond between parents and child is of great importance for the development of the child. A child is supposed to grow in a happy and loving environment; however, this isn’t the case in William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning.” The short story follows the coming of age story of Colonel Sartoris Snopes whom has to struggle with whether or not to prove his loyalty to his family or face justice. Sartoris has to battle this problem while being exposed to his father’s abusive parenting, struggling with a sense of justice, and contemplating his family loyalty.
“Barn Burning” depicts the story of Colonel Sartoris Snopes also known as Sarty, whose father Abner Snopes is accused of burning down Mr. Harris’s Barn. Sarty is called up to testify against his
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father, but he knows he has to be loyal and lie for his father. Before he can testify the judge dismisses the charges and warns Snopes to leave the county. At their new home, Snopes wants to speak with the owner Major de Spain. As he enters the home he stains the rug with horse droppings, two servants later take the rug to Snopes to have it cleaned. After the rug is cleaned and returned, Mr. de Spain arrives the next morning claiming the rug was ruined. Instead of paying a hundred dollars Snopes was to pay twenty bushels of corn. Returning to court with Sarty and his other son the judge orders Snopes to pay ten extra bushels of corn. Afterwards the three of them spend some time in town then return home, there Sarty learns that his father is planning to burn down the de Spain barn. After alerting Mr. de Spain, Sarty hears three gunshots in the distance. Sarty mourns his father’s death and presumably his brother as well. He falls asleep on the road and wakes up feeling better and begins to walk away without looking back. Typically, it is the role of the father to be the role model for his children, too instill courage and a sense of right from wrong.
In “Barn Burning” Abner Snopes isn’t the typical father figure, instead of encouraging and loving him he hits Sarty to make him be a man and to learn the importance of loyalty. Faulkner notes, “[Abner] struck him with the flat of his hand on the side of his head, hard but without heat . . . his voice still without heat: ‘You’re getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood to stick to you’” (803). Abner and Sarty’s relationship is struggling due to Abner’s abusive nature. Unfortunately, many parents still beat their child today in order to teach them a lesson or because they resort to violence in order to discipline their children. Some parents even use the excuse of loyalty to the parents to make the child fear the outcomes of revealing their ongoing abuse. Just like Sarty much of today’s youth struggle with a sense of …show more content…
justice. Sarty struggles with his sense of justice and he knows that his father must pay for his actions. Knowing what must be done is always easier said than done. Sarty recognizes that his father must face the consequences, but even though he’s afraid of him also afraid for him. For instance Abner tells Sarty, “You were fixing to tell them. You would have told him” (Faulkner 803). We know that Sarty was planning to lie for his father in order to protect him, but of course Snopes didn’t know. Snopes feels betrayed by his son and now Sarty believes he will have to prove his loyalty to his father. The struggle with justice is present in families, we wrestle with what we know is the right thing to do and protecting the people we love and care for. It’s difficult to go against everything we’ve learned especially if it’s towards the people who have taught us and made us who we are. Loyalty is a theme that was ever present in “Barn Burning” and is also existent in our society.
People know the power of loyalty and expect it in a number of settings be it they’re family, friends, careers, organizations, etc. A very evident example that Faulkner notes is when Sarty thought, “Enemy, enemy!” (801). Sarty views loyalty as a two-way street he believes his father's enemies are his enemies and vice versa. Additionally, another example is after Sarty is hit by another boy who hisses to him, “Barn burner!” (Faulkner 801). Sarty’s face gets covered in blood to which Abner doesn’t allow him to clean up. Abner views Sarty’s bloodied face as him defending his family name, proving his loyalty to the family. Receiving a parent’s approval is evident in many families, the children believe they must prove themselves. Today it isn’t necessarily about proving our loyalty, but more about proving our responsibility. A responsibility to our families and for the people we care
about. William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” presented the question of loyalty for one’s family or turning your back for the right reason. Sarty served as the child who struggled with his family loyalty as well as his sense of justice and the relationship he had with his father. These topics are present in many of the family relationships currently seen; however, like Sarty the children don’t always live in a safe environment. In Sarty’s case by losing his father he is able to break the connection of loyalty towards his family and leave without turning back.
Getting a divorce is not an easy decision for most married couples. This separation process is even harder when children are stuck in the middle of the dispute. While having a class discussion about the short story “Big Jesse, Little Jesse”, from Oscar Casares’ Brownsville: Stories, many peers came to the conclusion that Jesse seems to blame his son’s disability and the different experiences it brings into Little Jesse's life for the lack of connection between the two. However, the young age in which Jesse became a father, which deprived him from the enjoyment of his own youth, could have affected the father and son relationship, leading Jesse to try and find similar interests he might share with his son to build a better bond.
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?
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is an intriguing story about a young boy named Colonel Sartoris's (Sarty) love and hatred for his father, Abner Snopes. Ab is a brutal and frightening man who instills fear into whom ever he seems to be close to. What is the cause of Abner Snopes's cruel-heartedness? Maybe it's his alienation from the higher class in society that causes him to act in this manner. When such a separation occurs in a community one can feel that he doesn't belong and because he does not belong that the only way the higher class will give him the time of day is if the person acts out and tries to prove that he doesn't need law and conventional society, much like Ab Snopes. Another possibility is that Sarty's father has not developed the intelligence to conform to societal formality. He might feel that law is unnecessary for a husband and father who can, for the most part, get by and protect his family on his own. The cold hearted side of Ab Snopes is what causes the internal conflict in Sarty. Sarty loves his father because of the simple fact that Ab is his father. No matter how evil a father is a part deep down inside, no matter how small, will always hold the door open in case that person ever decides to change. That of course is the only thing that even remotely resembles Sarty's true love for his father, because Abner Snopes does nothing but abuse anyone who ever loved him throughout the entire story. We know that he is harsh to his wife, his sons, his daughters, and even his stock, and in the end this is why Sarty betrays his father. He simply would not take it any longer.
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.
Barn Burning "You’re getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you." This quote from William Faulkner’s "Barn Burning" does reveal a central issue in the story, as Jane Hiles suggests in her interpretation. The story is about blood ties, but more specifically, how these ties affect Sarty (the central character of the story). The story examines the internal conflict and dilemma that Sarty faces. When the story begins, Sarty and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty, known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families mentality. Sarty’s father, Abner Snopes is being accused of a barn burning. Right away, as Sarty is called to testify, you get an idea of what is going through the boy’s head, and the mentality that has be ingrained in him. He thinks to himself, Enemy! Enemy!, referring to the people that his father and his family for that matter are up against. Sarty would later discover that things are not always the way that his father leads everyone to believe they are. Sarty, somewhere deep down wants to just do what is right, but being roughly 10 years old, I don’t think he quite has that figured out yet. His sense of right and wrong has been biased under the tyranny of his father. We also get a good idea of the personality of the father, Abner, by the way Sarty describes his physical appearance. Abner is...
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.
Faulkner allows Abner to deliver his moral without the typical heroism found in a protagonist. While Faulkner selects Abner as the protagonist, he makes him an anti-hero, instead of displaying bravery he abandons justice. Sarty recognizes his father’s “Sunday coat donned not for the trail, but for moving”, which demonstrates Abner’s disrespect for authority and avoidance of justice Faulkner 805).. Abner’s “racist and sexist language and conduct” lend to his anti-hero persona while delivering the message of a struggling class (Billingslea). His ego and racism fuel his rage. His offense in seeing himself as property equal to the negro man cause him to reflect angrily saying the De Spain’s “wanted to mix some white sweat” into their capitol (Faulkner 805). He feels that he must rebel and remove all that threatens his ego, or reminds him of his ascribed life.
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.
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" provides an excellent example of how conflicting loyalties can affect decisions. In Faulkner's story, the main character, Sarty, faces such a dilemma. On one hand, Sarty has the morals that society has instilled in him in spite of his father. One the other hand, Sarty has the loyalty to his father because of the blood ties shared between them and the fact that his father raised and provided for him. Ultimately, it is these conflicting ideas that will lead to Sarty's final decision.
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.”
The story provides many sources for the boy's animosity. Beginning with his home and overall environment, and reaching all the way to the adults that surround him. However, it is clear that all of these causes of the boy's isolation have something in common, he has control over none of these factors. While many of these circumstances no one can expect to have control over, it is the culmination of all these elements that lead to the boy’s undeniable feeling of lack of control.
In “Barn Burning”, the author William Faulkner shows constant conflict between Sarty and his father Abner to show the overbearing influences Abner has over Sarty of doing what is morally right or wrong to emphasize how people must find their own path even if that means having conflict with family expectations.
...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..
Adam, a corporal officer, starts as man who works everyday to catch the ‘villains’ of society, but is not spending enough time with his family, especially his son. He favors his nine year old daughter over his fifteen year old son. Adam views his daughter as a sweet child, and his son as a stubborn teenager who is going through a rebellious stage. However, when his daughter is killed in an accident, his perspective of family changes. In his grief, he states that he wishes he had been a better father. His wife reminds him that he still is a father and he realizes that he still has a chance with his son, Dylan. After his Daughter’s death, he creates a resolution from scriptures that states how he will be a better father. Because of the resolution he creates, he opens up to and spends more time with his son. By th...