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Belonging In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

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Belonging to a being much bigger than yourself can sometimes make the world seem entirely easier to deal with and get through but on the other hand it can sometimes cripple the individual to a point where their life is nothing but a meaningless cycle of living for the larger being than with it. This can be seen in no better light than in William Faulkner’s classic telling of “Barn Burning” where the author utilizes point of view and character development to help his readers understand and care for the story’s theme. That theme being that belonging to something much bigger than yourself is not always a great thing if you have to loss yourself in order to be a part of it. Faulkner established the foundation on which he is meant to build his theme upon by introducing his readers to the Snopes family, a family of seven that is “lead” or in this case mislead by their crazed and misguided patriarch Abner Snopes who’s common disregard for others and inability to let things go has turned his family into followers without a voice and has led to them literally burning their bridges in the past. The first example of William Faulkner’s displays that the family is not worth being a part of comes from Abner’s unwillingness to listen to the concerns of others shown thru his encounter with Mr. Harris a man who had constantly found the Snopes’ family pig on his premises are returned it time and time again going as …show more content…

Sartoris’ dilemma teaches readers that the desire to belong, while enticing, is not one that we as people want to follow blindly fore if we do we might be led down a path that pushes us to not only loss sight of what is important but also loss sight of

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Abner Snopes In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

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This passage from William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is written to establish the beginnings of the breakdown of the Snopes family - and of Sarty himself - through the destructive storm that is Abner Snopes. The difference in character between Sarty and his father being described in the paragraph shows the beginnings of a rift between father and son. Where Sarty is very expressive as he is "leaping" and "scrabbling" in a "red haze", Abner emotes in a very contained fashion. Though Abner is "harsh" and "cold" as he "jerk[s]" his son, the words are of a very smothered sort of anger. This clear opposition in temperament between the two men direct the reader towards and impending future division.

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Not to mention, the story starts off in a courtroom because Abner Snopes burned down the property of Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris is landowner, who is left with a burned barn and no legal option. Snopes is advised to leave the country because the court can’t find enough evidence to sentence him. His son Sarty Snopes chooses to warn the owner. “Barn Burning” offers a helpful picture of how Faulkner sees the economics of the postbellum South, where the poor whites remain the underclass rivals of black sharecroppers (Pierce).

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Mario Puzo, an American author, screenwriter, and journalist, once said, “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.” In the short story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, the juxtaposition in Sarty’s split loyalty between his father and doing what is morally correct outside of his family shows how he feels an urge to identify with his family and their “bloodline,” but also have a moral compass, which conveys how the high standards of loyalty placed on families or groups influence people’s moral compass and sense of right and wrong. Barn Burning takes place in an unknown location, most likely the southern United States and is about a young boy named Sarty and his experience in dealing with his

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Faulkner composites a family that is far away from perfect, instead the family members each face a tribulation that connects to the death their mother. With the supporting passages Faulkner demonstrates how the novel, As I Lay Dying fulfill his own vision of the writer’s duty, which is to express the problems by appealing to pathos, introducing relatable problems, and discussing family dynamics. Faulkner fulfills the writer’s duty by introducing problems the writers can relate to. Faulkner inspires readers to write about, “problems of the human heart... with itself which can make good writing...because that is only worth the sweat agony” (Faulkner 14-15).

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“Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family”-Unknown. This quote relates directly to my story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner. Barn Burning is a story of family, loyalty, and morality and answers the question “how far does loyalty to family go?”. This story follows a boy named Sarty that is at the age where he starting to figure out what kind of person he will be in life. Sarty is a fascinating and dynamic young boy that faces a major ethical dilemma.

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

“Barn Burning” is a very interesting story about a family and the hardships they face. Though the narrative focuses on Sarty Snopes, his father Abner causes many of the problems they encounter. Abner Snopes is a very cruel and negative father who does not grow throughout the story because of his hate towards others. In this story, Faulkner uses figurative language to characterize Abner.

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Importance Of Loyalty In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

1848 Words | 8 Pages

Loyalty is a common principle taught to children at a very young age. Society tells people that loyalty to one 's family should be held above all else, causing many to face the same challenges that Sartoris faced in William Faulkner 's "Barn Burning". Inner conflict is a reoccurring theme in Barn Burning and is highlighted when young Sartoris was called to testify against his father in a case of a barn burning and again when the child learned of his father 's intentions to burn another, causing Sartoris to make the choice between staying loyal to his family or doing the thing he knows is right and turning his dad in. Sartoris grew up in a tight-knit household where family loyalty was not to be broken; however, he knew in his heart that his father had

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866 Words | 4 Pages

Sarty from barn Burning Name University Sarty from Barn Burning Barn Burning is a short tale by William Faulkner, which discuss 10 year old boy, Sarty Snopes’ dilemma over assigning priority between his family and social justice, truth and righteousness (Ford, 1998). The story seems to be revolving around Sarty’s unceasing contemplations about his father’s integrity and justice’s philosophies and system. However, in the story, Sarty’s father, Abner Snope is used to burn the barn and notorious as an incendiary but, Sarty’s views on justice are far different from his father, and it appears that Sarty, however having younger age, possesses deep and upright stances than his father’s peculiar justice view. The entire story based on the son’s dilemma over following his authoritative father’s immoral actions and sticks to family welfare programs or goes for the self-sacrificing and moral attitude, he inherits from her mother.

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