Literary Analysis of Barn Burning

William Faulkner some would say was one of the great writers of American literature during the twentieth century. His stories many times had a gothic plot and contained odd or supernatural ideas and characters. He had many notable works, two of which were “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning”. “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning” are similar in the way that William Faulkner portrays the characters and the tone he uses in both.

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.

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?

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

actions to show that no one will own or control him. He has no regard

In contrast, disillusionment and stereotyped perceptions are evident in both. According to Fitzgerald, Dexter’s pursuit of wealth was in order to win the heart of a girl whom he discovered was not into him after all. In the story “Barn Burning” Abner’s real struggle was vested in his need for relevance and superiority and to distinguish himself from the class of other slaves who were blacks. He even sought justice in an attempt to cement his superiority and prove to everyone Moreover, loyalty and blood relations can also be contrasted.

All stories, as all individuals, are embedded in a context or setting: a time, a place, and a culture. In fact, characters and their relationship to others are better understood in a specific context of time, place and atmosphere, as they relate to a proposed theme or central point of a story. Abner is revealed as a sadistic character who confronts his son with the choice of keeping his loyal ties to the family or parting for a life on his own with no familial support. Sarty is Abner's son, a young boy torn by the words of his father and the innate senses of his heart. Sarty is challenged by an internal conflict, he wants to disobey his father, yet he knows that if he leaves he will have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. We will

The short story, a “Barn Burning” by Faulkner, is very descriptive and detailed down to the smallest things. I think Faulkner did this in order to really highlight each of the characters in the story with clear visuals. Strangely though, Faulkner brings up Sarty’s sisters ever so casually throughout the entire story, but the way he is describing these girls is rather odd. Within the first two pages of the short story, Faulkner refers to the girls as “hulking” (802), but he refers to their mother and aunt as dressed in “calico and sunbonnets.” These two descriptions of these four people are on completely different sides of the spectrum; the sisters seem to have very masculine features throughout the entire story, but what does this exactly mean?

Symbolism was also a well-known literary element throughout the story “Barn Burning”. Faulkner uses symbolism to have underlying meanings beneath his writings. In this particular short story, Faulkner uses many different symbols throughout this piece of work. The biggest forms of symbolism throughout this story include fire, spring, blood, and even the wagon on moving day. Faulkner uses fire within this story to symbolize power. Abner Snopes is a main character within this story and has a need to make people around him feel less powerful than him. Fire is a symbol of power because Abner Snopes ultimately wants to feel like he has full control over his life and what goes on, which in turn means that

In the beginning, “Barn Burning” appears to be a story about an oppressive father and his family, who seems to be caught up in his oppression. As you read further in to the story you find that the story is focused on a young son of a poor sharecropper, who has to struggle with his father’s arsonist tendencies which are destroying his families’ reputation and life style, while coming to terms with his own morality. The young son, whose name is Colonel Sartoris Snopes, is the protagonist in this story. Sarty (the boy’s nickname) disapproves of his father’s destructive actions and soon has to decide whether to be loyal to his family or give in to his own values of morality. Abner Snopes, who is the

Your Name here ENGL 2328 Rachel Hebert 09 December 2017 Themes and Symbolism in Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” In “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner we have the theme of loyalty, conflict, power, control, authority, justice and reestablishment. The story is narrated in the third individual by an anonymous narrator and from the earliest starting point of the story it turns out to be clear to the reader that Faulkner is investigating the theme of loyalty and conflict. The narrator tells the reader that Sarty, as he is sitting in the store, considers Harris 'our enemy… “ourn! mine and hisn both.”

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” takes a lot of real life cultural values and ways of southern life in the late 1800s. Many of those values and ways are expressed by sharecropping and tenant farming.

In “Barn Burning,” the author, William Faulkner, composes a wonderful story about a poor boy who lives in anxiety, despair, and fear. He introduces us to Colonel Satoris Snopes, or Sarty, a boy who is mature beyond his years. Due to the harsh circumstances of life, Sarty must choose between justice and his family. At a tender age of ten, Sarty starts to believe his integrity will help him make the right choices. His loyalty to family doesn’t allow for him to understand why he warns the De Spain family at such a young age. Faulkner describes how the Snopes family is emotionally conflicted due to Abner’s insecurities, how consequences of a father’s actions can change their lives, and how those choices make Sarty begin his coming of age into

In Williams Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” there are several themes to be evaluated here. To me the main theme here is justice but there are a couple other themes the author uses to clarify this theme. He uses the strong ties of post-civil war families living outside of civilization and their dedication to each other. He embraces the idea of bravery several times which shows that doing the right thing, while going against family tradition, can be a difficult challenge. And finally he brings us back to justice by comparing bravery to family commitment. Although the main

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of children. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or also known as CDC defines child abuse as any act or series of acts by a parent or other caregiver that could result in harm to a child. Most child abuse occurs in a child's home, but it could also be found within organizations, schools, or communities that the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and also sexual abuse. In the story I selected, it shows many signs of sexual and physical abuse within a little girl and her older brother. Of course the mother