Barn Burning Response Paper

In 2003, possibly one of the worst wildfires in California’s history occurred. This fire, referred to as the Cedar Fire, spread across 273,246 acres.

Even though he knew that his father was responsible of the fire that occurred on the barn he was not going to expose him. After getting out of the court Mr. Snopes advises Sartoris that family will always be first no matter what are the circumstances. “You are getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you are not going to have any blood to stick to you.” (Faulkner 42). The blood in literal sense refers in the strength of the ties with family, because at the end they are the ones that support you even when they know they are not doing the right thing according to Mr. Snopes. In this case Sartoris knows he did wrong on not saying any word against his father to the judge, but stick to your own blood it is

In the book The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon, Brent talks about his road to recovery after his suicide attempt. Although Brent was severely burned after the incident and had to spend almost a year in hospitals, the suicide attempt also impacted his family. Brent had to go through therapy along with his family going to some of the sessions as well. In the therapy sessions, his family explained some of the feelings that they going through. “A variety of emotions may emerge, all of which are completely normal. These can include, but are not limited to:

The theme of William Faulkner's Barn Burning is Colonel Sartoris Snope's desire to break away from the oppressive conditions of his family life. He is pulled between his family and his morality. In this essay, I will discuss Sarty's struggle between the two sides of his conflict and the point at which it becomes resolved.

Barn Burning is a story by William Faulkner, a native of Oxford, Mississippi. The story starts off in a small town court which is also a store. Mr. Harris who owns a barn, is blaming Mr. Snopes for burning down his barn. The judge asks Mr. Harris what proof he has, but he doesn’t have proof that he actually did it. Instead he thinks Mr. Snopes has it out for him because one time Mr. Snopes hog got out in Mr. Harris cornfield. He demands a dollar for his return, but instead Snopes sent someone to get it and warned him that wood is capable of catching fire. And that night Harris barn caught on fire. But this isn’t enough to convict him of this. But this doesn’t stop Mr. Harris, he calls Mr. Snopes son to see what he knows. Nothing happens, but the judge wants Mr. Snopes to leave because he has had nothing but trouble. The family heads home and later that night Mr. Snopes wakes his son Sartoris and claims that he was going to throw him under the table and say he did it. The family then settles in a new location, where they will work for Major de Spain. Snopes being the person he is, walks into Major's house with mud on his boots making a mess. Later that day Snopes is asked to clean the rug he pretty much destroyed. Snopes cleans it like someone that has never cleaned before, making it worse. He returns the rug and the next day is confronted by Major. Major wants to be payed for his destroyed rug. Snopes denies paying and is taken to court. He loses in court and this makes him very mad. Snopes then tries to burn down Majors barn. But Sartoris runs and tells Major. Major comes and kills Snopes before he could do any damage.

Sarty must choose to either follow the law or to choose the same path his father

The way Sarty planned to lie for his father depicts the brutal sting of injustice in Faulkner’s society. Sarty tramples on justice to prove his loyalty to his father as he spends his life proving it to him. "You were fixing to tell them. You would have told them."

He is even more afraid of losing his father’s trust after Abner hits him “hard but with out heat”(280) not for telling the truth, but for wanting to. Sarty is conscious of the fact that if Abner knew his desire for “truth, justice, he would have hit”(280) him again and that Abner’s recommendation that he “learn to stick to” his “own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you”(280) is more of a threat rather than fatherly advice. Sarty learns to stifle any qualms he has and overlook his own developing morals in order to defend his father’s cold-blooded attacks. In the face of Abner’s “outrage and savagery and lust”(286) and the ever-present conflict these emotional outbursts cause, Sarty’s sense of obligation to his father out weighs his desire to “run on and on and never look back”(286). He hopes being forced out of town will transform the side of Abner that possesses an “inherent [ly] voracious prodigality with material not his own”(279) and he will be satisfied once and for all. As father and son walk within sight of an impressive manor “big as a courthouse”(280) owned by Major de Spain, a wealthy landowner with whom Abner has struck a deal to farm corn on his land, Sarty knows at once that “they are safe from him”(280). His father’s “ravening”(281) envy could not possibly touch these “people whose lives are part of this peace and dignity”(281). But, Abner is seething with “jealous rage”(281) at the sight of the de Spain

Sarty’s Decision Making difficult decisions is a part of everyday life, with some decisions being bigger than others. Sometimes the decisions come with consequences that could potentially change everything. Sarty wasn’t sure if he made the right decision, and in the end had to deal with the consequences that came with the choice he made. In William Faulkner’s short story “Barn burning”, Sarty had to make the decision to turn in his father, Abner, for his crimes of burning barns. Sarty is faced with the decision when he is speaking to the Justice.

Barn Burning “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner was written in the ebb of the 1930’s in a decade of social, economic, and cultural decline. This story offers insight into the past years for students to learn of the nation and the South. This story shows the racial segregation that took place in these times between the white landowners and white tenant farmers, the blacks and the whites, and the poor white trash class and the blacks. The Snopes’s family was in the social class of the poor, white tenant farmers. The father, Abner Snopes, had to struggle to provide for his family.

Throughout the story “Barn Burning”, author William Faulkner conveys the moral growth and development of a young boy, as he must make a critical decision between either choosing his family and their teachings or his own morals and values. The reader should realize that the story “Barn Burning” was written in the 1930’s, a time of economic, social, and cultural turmoil. Faulkner carries these themes of despair into the story of the Snopes family.

Obeying is the basic principle in loyalty, one in which Sarty cannot differ between. For him loyalty is pleasing his father no matter what the consequence. That is until he can break free from the oppression of loyalty and finally see that it was loyalty that was blinding his true character. It is not until 20 years later that Sarty realizes that society “wanted only truth, justice” (Faulkner 3). It was not society whom demanded extreme loyalty, it was merely his family and more specifically his power-hungry father. Abner at one point in the story takes it as far as to tell Sarty to stick to his families own blood because if not then he would have no one else to rely on (Faulkner 3). This shallow threat is yet another attack on a boy that aims to please his father, but is so caught in the middle of his battle with loyalty and self that he can be depicted as “flying and being removed or suspended from the ground” (Kirchdorfer 116). Sarty wishes to escape his reality and be in a world where he doesn’t have these bouts with loyalty where his feet do not feel the floor under them (Faulkner

Every person reaches a point in their lives when they must define themselves in relation to their parents. We all come through this experience differently, depending on our parents and the situation that we are in. For some people the experience comes very early in their lives, and can be a significant life changing experience. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” Colonel Sartoris Snopes must decide either to stand with his father and compromise his integrity, or embrace honesty and morality and condemn his family. This is a difficult decision to make, especially for a ten year old boy that has nothing outside of what his father provides. Sarty’s decision to ultimately betray his father is dependent on his observation of Abner’s character

Abner Snopes, Sarty’s father, had an outrageous amount of anger towards the rich and to express his anger towards them he taught Sarty how to make threats and violate others legal property. Although, Abner’s burning of the barn had been his way of fighting against the inequality in the southern society, this does not make it acceptable. Sarty is only ten and has not yet set standards for his own moral code, therefore all he knows is what he has been taught. His father has taught him to be a man in the light of his criteria. “You are 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 stick to you” (Faulkner, pg. 803). Sarty believes that what his father is telling him has to do with family responsibility and agrees with him. Sarty is still young and because of this he does what his father says and keeps quiet about the crime his father has committed. Although, Sarty does see all the great his father has done fighting against the inequality of the Southern Society, he also notices the odd and the wrong in his father’s behavior and decisions. At this place in the story, the relationship between Abner and Sarty is still at absolute loyalty.

Child abuse has been a common occurrence throughout the times of this world. In the story Barn Burning that was written by the author William Faulkner, a story is told of a boy named Colonel Sartoris Snopes who lives with his family. His father is a man who has seen the brutality of war and has a very cold heart. His name is Abner Snopes. His heart is so cold that it is almost as if he is not even human. William Faulkner in the story uses words comparing Abner Snopes to a house fly, or stinging wasp and also says that he lifts his hand like a curled claw. This suggests that the Author was trying to give the readers an image of Abner Snopes being someone who lacked human qualities. Mainly he lacked