Barn Burning: Chaos Against Order “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner is an enticing story that raises questions as well as understanding in the characters. Those portrayed in the story have tied morals and values that is inseparable from them. They each represent an attribute of emotion that very well can be seen from people in everyday life. The characters all reflect real life powers that manipulate and control them in a hexed manner.
Steve’s mother’s insight into the crime makes Steve feels as if he is innocent. Ordinarily, he is relying on others’ to see where he stands in the crime and if he is innocent or not. In this case, he is
The novel displays Steve’s father’s perception regarding his son’s presence in jail. Steve Harmon ends up in jail for suspected murder, leaving his innocence to be questioned by those closest to him. Steve’s father finds it difficult to believe that Steve is innocent. Steve’s father experiences “tears in his eyes” and “struggles with his emotions” just after Steve asks if his father believes that Steve is truly innocent (Myers 111).
But, in this case Sarty have to decide if being loyal to his family or loyal to the law is more important. As we may all know that a father and son relationship is supposed to have the tightest bond that consist of LOYALTY? In “Barn Burning” Sarty is broken between his loyalty to his family and an inner more sense of justice. At the beginning of the story it starts off with loyalty.
Perry’s disturbing past urges both the reader and the townspeople to view the culprit’s entire story from a moral standpoint. Thus, this causes them to empathize with him and question whether such a brutal punishment should be inflicted upon a man who may potentially have mental issues. The uncertainty that arises in the minds of the townspeople is portrayed in the prosecutor’s conversation with the newsman after Perry is hanged.
In Barn Barning by William Faulker, Sarty faces some hard decisions in his life. He is confronted with loyalty to his family and to honor and justice. While it might seem that Barning Burning is about loyalty, the story + is an initiation from childhood to manhood. Barn Burning is an initiation story which provide believable account of modern rite of passage into adulthood. Sarty endures a challenging experience that prepares him for adulthood.
The ideas of justice and morality is questioned constantly through out the short story.
The description of Abner Snopes as “anger embodied” is an accurate representation of his character. Abner Snopes uses physical and psychological violence to control his family. Faulkner characterizes him as someone who is reserved, emotionless, and doesn’t seem to have a good code of ethics. For example, In the de Spain home, Snopes intentionally steps in horse manure and tracks it throughout the house.
The impacts of the war modeled them into adulthood faster than their age, teaching them how to fend for themselves and fight back the enemies even when they were still of tender age. Such an aspect illustrates the manner these young ones were forced into adulthood even before their age could dictate so. Faulkner 's Barn Burning is a story about a young Caucasian boy, who grows up to realize how to differentiate right from wrong. Sarty Snopes is a young adolescent presented before the court, with the hope that he will not testify against his father in the case of arson his father was facing. Even when he knows that his father is guilty of the crime, he testifies in favor of the crime to protect his father.
Going back to the quote at the beginning, loyalty is a key part of this story. It is Sarty’s undying loyalty to his terrible father that drives the story forward. The first scene we come to where Sarty displays loyalty to his father is when Abner is on trial for the crime of burning down a black man’s barn. The court decides they want Sarty to testify. Sarty decides that he must defend his father because loyalty to family is very important
He has the choice of being loyal to his father and backing him up, or sticking to his morals and standing up for the right thing. Faulkner uses the experiences of Sarty to convey the moral dilemma of deciding whether to stand with his father and compromise his integrity, or embrace honesty and morality. This is demonstrated in Sarty’s idealized image of his father,
“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.
Faulkner dives deeper into the pressure that Sartoris faced to remain loyal to his father when the family camped for the final night before they expected to arrive at the new home the father had found for them. After dinner, Sarty is called by his father onto the road where his father proceeds to accuse the boy of planning to tell the Justice of the Peace the truth, that his father was the one who burnt the barn down, even though Sartoris had silently made up his mind and was planning on defending him. His father then struck him in the face and with it came the words, "you got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain 't going to have any blood to stick to you" (par. 28). This line plays a vital role in the creation of the theme, inner conflict, as it further explains the situation that the young boy was in. The father was telling his young son that he needed to be for the family and protect it by defending the lies his father tells or do what Sarty 's heart was telling him to do and cost himself his family, and the people he loved.
Sarty finally comes to understand that blood isn't generally thicker than water. Sarty just had to overlook the love and the relationship he had with his father Abner to see the wrong he was doing and the controversy he was causing in the
Heaved I ever experience racism? How did it make me feel? Yes, I have experience racism. It was not the best feeling ever it made me feel like crap. It’s funny how people make you feel if you’re a different race.
