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The Revolt Of Mother 'And Barn Burning'

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When one examines the history of his or her life, regret is often the resulting emotional state. Commonly, people feel life is not being lived to the fullest. Liberation from regret is an arduous goal. A person cannot question how life can be improved without questioning the definition of an unlived life. Although superficial ideations may be individually unique, the core definition of an unlived life remains consistent. Through classic American literature, examples of the core definition are presented. “The Beast in the Jungle” by Henry James, “The Revolt of Mother” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner are exceptional symbols of life lessons. The short stories of James, Freeman, and Faulkner each identify a unique …show more content…

It signified little whether the crouching beast were destined to slay him or be slain. The definite point was the inevitable spring of the creature, and the definite lesson from that was that a man of feeling didn’t cause himself to be accompanied by a lady on a tiger-hunt. (486) In her criticism, “The Beast in the Jungle,” Carol Dell’Amico describes her impression of Marcher’s failure. Dell’Amico writes, “… that he should have loved and cherished May Bartram, and lived a full life cultivating pleasure and passion from what life has to offer any human being, rather than waiting for something extraordinary to occur.” Marcher’s obsessive preoccupation with a future event conceals his view of the present and deprives him of living a full life. In “The Beast in the Jungle: Overview,” Dennis Vannatta describes Marcher’s phobia of a future event as a juvenile idea outgrown by most children. In his criticism, Vannatta writes, “The problem is that Marcher is so captivated by this childish notion that other potentialities of his life are eliminated or reduced to anemic supporting roles.” Marcher’s anxiety prevents him from seeing the irony that not living his life is the cataclysmic event. James writes, “What it presently came to in truth was that poor Marcher waded through his beaten grass, where no life stirred, …show more content…

In “Barn Burning,” Sarty and his family are timid victims of abuse by Sarty’s father, Abner Snopes. Faulkner shows how Sarty transitions from an unlived life to a fulfilled life as he fosters the courage to defy his father and reports Abner’s malicious intent to burn Major de Spain’s barn. While Sarty experiences unpleasant physical abuse from his father, the psychological pain is greater. Sarty struggles with the fear of disappointing his father versus the moral dilemma of living an authentic life. Faulkner expresses Sarty’s agony: “I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again” (810). Instead of running, Sarty silently acts against his principle. He continues to follow his father’s atrocious commands and endure abuse. In her criticism, “The Narrator of Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning’,” Susan S. Yunis describes the narrator’s approach to addressing Sarty’s abuse. Yunis states, “… the narrator's silencing of Sarty’s pain would correspond to a strategy frequently used by victims of abuse: a refusal to feel pain or anger or the impulse to resist, or any other response which might incur further abuse.” Abner does not conserve his abuse for Sarty alone. Abner Snopes conducts himself in a defiant and reckless manner causing his family to suffer the arduous consequences of an unlived life. Due to frequent moves and detrimental abuse, the

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