Defiance In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

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Defiance might be the only way to advance through life. The attention that defiance brings starts a new chapter in life that might throw the mind into a new state. “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner is about starting a new path. A path to the unknown which will be better than the past. Satoris, the young boy that the story portrays, has a tough life due to his dad. His dad does not display the love for his family like most fathers should. Satoris shows that he must defy his parent rule to get away from his corrupt family. He does this, because he requires hope just so he can get a life that he demands. Faulkner uses the last two paragraph to show that even though Satouris is going against everything he knows; he will benefit more to go into …show more content…

The fire is a component for the emotion he has because the fire he has for the hatred of the owner is shown through the torched barn. As well as the fire for hatred, there is a fire for the love of his family. Abner builds a fire for his family after they are found innocent of the barn burning, but are told that they should evacuate the county. That night that the group leaves they stop and Abner starts a small, weak fire. Satoris has an internal paroxysm that really burst out toward his dad's love, he begins to fantasize about going away. The flame is described as being, “a small fire, neat ,niggard almost, a skewed fire ” (158) which really shows what the father displays about his family. The fire is tiny just like the heart he has, especially for his family. A fire offers warmth and a love vibe is spread from the warmth. Like a hug, fire offer love and warmth but the father does not love his family. Abner just does not care enough about his family to make a blaze that will warm the family. However, when it comes to hatred, he creates a wildfire within himself which leads him to make bad moves throughout his life. When the flame was eternal inside of him, he let that affect his outside