Barn Burning Essay - 754 Words

William Faulkners Barn Burning, Through the eyes of a child In William Faulkners Barn Burning, Faulkner has chosen to tell his story through the point of view of a small boy, Sartoris Snopes. By choosing Sartoris’ viewpoint , Faulker has enabled the one person who was both closely affected by Abners behavior and had the power to do something about it. Its not unusual to tell a story from a childs point of view, but on the surface this would not seem to be a childs story, and even from the first page of the story Sartoris is a victim of his fathers actions. Thus, by choosing Sartoris instead of Abner the author has brought in a different narrator, which makes the reader see things in a different way. At the beginning†¦show more content†¦Sartoris moral values are not awakened because he suddenly and spontaneously realizes that his father is a wrong doing man. Instead, Sartoris has undergone a type of spiritual revelation when he first sees Major de Spains plantation. He feels that the residents of this lovely home are safe fr om his father. As Sartoris states on paragraph fourty, People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are behind his touch, he no more to them than a buzzing wasp: capable of stinging for a little moment but thats all; the spell of this peace and dignity rendering even the barns and stable and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive. For the first time in the story Sartoris has described beauty, elegance, and grace, and recognizes these qualities as being new and of a spiritual encounter. They strike a positive attitude in him, and he will never be the same. When Sartoris bursts into the de Spains living room and informs them that his father is going to burn down the Majors barn, he has made a moral decision against his father. He has realized that his father was wrong when he said that You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you aint going to have any blood to stick to you. What Sartoris has to stick to is his selfhood, his new knowl edge of who he is and who he wants to be. If the story was to be told by Abner it would have had no conflict,Show MoreRelatedEssay Barn Burning1481 Words   |  6 PagesIn â€Å"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 SpainRead MoreBarn Burning Essay1889 Words   |  8 PagesIn William Faulkner’s â€Å"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 noth ing outside of what his father provides. Sarty’s decision to ultimately betray his father is dependent on his observation of Abner’s character and the conflict he feels concerning Abner. â€Å"Barn Burning† opens with a trial inRead More Barn Burning Essay571 Words   |  3 PagesBarn Burning â€Å"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 ofRead More Barn Burning Essay773 Words   |  4 PagesBarn Burning Barn Burning is a sad story because it very clearly shows the classical struggle between the privileged and the underprivileged classes. Time after time emotions of despair surface from both the protagonist and the antagonist involved in the story. This story outlines two distinct protagonists and two distinct antagonists. The first two are Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty) and his father Abner Snopes (Ab). Sarty is the protagonist surrounded by his fatherRead More Barn Burning Essay1110 Words   |  5 Pages Barn Burning amp;quot;You’re 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 to stick to you.amp;quot; This quote from William Faulkner’s amp;quot;Barn Burningamp;quot; does reveal a central issue in the story, as Jane Hiles suggests in her interpretation. The story is about blood ties, but more specifically, how these ties affect Sarty (the central character of the story). The story examines the internal conflict and dilemmaRead MoreEssay On Barn Burning879 Words   |  4 PagesWhy are children so loyal to their parents, even if their parents do not meet the moral standards of the child? Throughout the text of â€Å"Barn Burning†, Sarty seems to have repetitive feelings of grief and despair, yet he hesitates to out his father for his crimes. He hates his father’s crimes and his father’s way of life. Yet, Sarty is hesitant to out his father for his crimes. Mainly beca use he hopes his father will change, he fears his father will harm him physically or emotionally, and he placesRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner935 Words   |  4 Pages William Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning,† is about a southern white family that resides in a rural county in Mississippi. The low-income family members are the mother Lennie Snopes, the older brother, two sisters, and an aunt. The story’s main characters are, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, a 10- year-old boy, the father Abner Snopes, the property owner Abner’s boss Major de Spain, and his wife, Mrs. Lula de Spain. Abner Snopes characterized as the antagonist, and Faulkner describes him as an evil, vengeful manRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1373 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s short story â€Å"Barn Burning† is an epic exhibition of the author’s style. In the story, Faulkner shows us the story of Colonel Sartoris Snopes regarding his want for good and his loyalty to his family. Throughout the story, Sarty is put in a position of having to struggle between his integrity and his want to defend his father and family. In â€Å"B arn Burning,† a struggle is displayed by Sarty Snopes between his want to do right and his want to honor his father. The reader gets theRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1357 Words   |  6 PagesHenry Award winning short story, â€Å"Barn Burning† was written in 1938 and published by Harper’s in 1939 (â€Å"William,† par. 12). In many ways the story is a product of â€Å"both a turbulent time in America’s history and Faulkner’s personal history† (Parker 101). America was emerging from the Great Depression just in time to see World War II looming on the horizon while Faulkner was struggling with â€Å"finances, a drinking problem, and a new mistress† (Parker 102). In â€Å"Barn Burning† Faulkner makes extensive useRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner682 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s Barn Burning, Abner Snopes is a main character and father of Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty), who is also a main character. Abner is a very poor looking man, unclean and unshaven. He always seems to wear the same thing, a dirty wh ite button up shirt with a dirty black hat and coat. Snopes is a very terrifying figure, often controlling his family with physical and psychological violence as well as making them contribute to his favorite pastime, burning barns. The Snopes family