Barn Burning Essay

Barn Burning Essay
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. In the family there were the mother and her sister,
two daughters, and two sons.
The older son, Flem, worked with Abner, and the younger son,...show more content...
Pictured as "poor, white trash", Abner's struggle to be better than the "nigger"race was a never–
ending battle, always ending in defeat. He invariably resorted to retrieving some sort of
satisfaction by destroying wealthy landowners property, barns. Abner's inability to rise above the
label of "poor, white trash" led to his demise as a functional part of society. He used the barn
burnings as a way of getting back at society for suppressing him. He felt that people owed him and
when he did not receive, he resorted to destructive measures. He felt that the tactics he employed
were the only real way to deal with the problem at hand. Another side of Abner tends to go deeper
than what appears on the surface. Although we are not told in the story precisely why he burns
barns, the real reason may be deeper, or should we say internal. This reason never foretold probably
came out of his early childhood. His parents' and other sharecroppers' homes may have been
destroyed by fire, therefore, leaving a psychopathic desire to get even with society. Through this
deep–rooted psychopathic behavior, Abner incorporatesbarn burning into every situation that he has
difficulty understanding. The reader is intended to see Abner as only a surface character, but
internally, he is rather complex. You never know what little things other than the obvious will set him
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Barn Burning Essay
Barn Burning 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. Faulkner opens the
story, "Barn Burning" in a southern courthouse room of the during the Civil War reconstruction era,
also a time of social, cultural, and economic instability. At this point in the story the main characters,
Abner (Ab) and his son, Colonel Sartoris...show more content...
Even at such a young age the boy is beginning to develop the ability to form morals and values of
his own. However, Sarty fears the harshness of his father, so he forces himself to abandon the
thought of questioning his father's judgments as evidenced by his thoughts "Forever he thought.
Maybe he's done satisfied now, now that he has...stopping himself, not to say it aloud even to
himself." As the family arrives at their new home, Sarty takes note of the de Spain mansion.
Sarty perhaps feels that his father's immoral beliefs will become irrelevant now that people of
such wealthy status employ them. Sarty describes the mansion and its relation to the father: Hit's
big as a courthouse he thought quietly, with a surge of peace an joy whose reason he could not
have thought into words, being too young for that: they are safe from him. People whose lives
are a part of this peace and dignity are beyond his touch, he no more to them than a buzzing wasp:
capable of stinging for a little moment but that's all; the spell of those peace and dignity rendering
even the barns and stables and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might
contrive...this, the peace and joy, ebbing for an instant as he looked again at the stiff black back, the
stiff implacable lime of the figure which was not dwarfed by the house, for the reason that it had

Barn Burning Essay
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...show more content...
As a boy, however, he doesn't know how to explain the conflict he is feeling and can only take in
what is happening around him.
Sarty has spent the beginning of the trial listening to the proceedings and waiting for Abner to
defend himself. When Sarty is called as a witness, he knows from his father's posture that he,
Sarty, will have to lie to defend the family. The fact that Sarty knows this without even seeing
Abner's face shows just how much time Sarty has spent observing his father's body language and
actions. This is reasonable, and even expected behavior from a child who lives with a parent who
is as prone to anger and retaliation as Abner. We see how desperate Sarty is about his father's
willingness for revenge when they are moving to the De Spain's estate and he thinks to himself,
"Forever [...]. Maybe he's done satisfied now, now that he has..." (86). But Sarty is unable to admit
the truth even to himself, probably because his loyalty to, and dependence on Abner. Even so early
in the story Sarty feels that his father is doing wrong, but through all his observation cannot condemn
the man. Sarty admires the qualities of independence, courage and conviction in his father but
doesn't recognize that these qualities, along with the righteous indignation that Abner constantly
keeps at the ready, are exactly what cause them to be

Barn Burning Essay
Barn Burning &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.&quot; This quote from
William Faulkner's &quot;Barn Burning&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 dilemma that Sarty faces. When the story begins, Sarty and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty,
known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families
mentality. Sarty's father, Abner Snopes is being...show more content...
There seems to be no apparent reason for the action other than the fact that the landlord in a way
owns Abner Snopes and his family, because the landlord own the land they will have to work for
a living. Therefore, they are at the mercy of the landlord. This doesn't sit well with Abner, and the
purpose of soiling the rug must be, again to make a statement about who he is, and to let the
landlord know that he doesn't bow to anyone. Soon, the rug is brought down to the farm and
presented to the family, who must now clean it. Abner, instead of getting his wife, or his sons to
clean the rug, (not to mention himself as well) instructs his two daughters, described as big,
lethargic and bovine, to take care of the task. The rational behind this is, Abner knows that the
two daughters will more than likely not do a proper job of washing the rug. He's a very spiteful
man. When the rug is returned to the owner and determined to be ruined, Abner is ordered to pay
the land owner twenty bushels of corn against his families share of the crop. It is later decided in
court, by the Justice of the Peace that he will only be required to pay ten bushels of corn. Of course,
Abner, being the way he is, will still not stand for it. Inevitably, one night Abner decides he will
make his signature statement, the barn burning. Of course, the story doesn't come right out and say
this, there is an ambiguous quality to

Essay on Barn Burning
Use of Blood in "Barn Burning"
"Barn Burning" is about the struggle of a boy to do what is right during the Post Civil War era.
The main character, Sartoris Snopes, is a poor son of a migrant tenant farmer. In the opening
scene he is being asked by a circuit judge about the burning of a farmer's barn by his father. The
boy does not tell on his father and is not forced to do so, but he thinks that he would have done so
had he been asked. The father, Abner Snopes, served in the Civil War for both sides and has
difficulty venting his anger. Usually he does so through the burning of other people's barns when they
wrong him. The symbol of blood is used by Faulkner to contribute to the theme of loyalty to the
...show more content...
Mine and hisn both! He's my father"(481). Here this shows that the father has done this before and
the boy is used to dealing with it.
The use of blood is also utilized when the father explains that the family must stick together.
Following the courthouse scene the boy and his father talk about the incident and Abner states,
"You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood to stick to
you"(484). In saying this, it is almost as if he is trying to convince the boy to lie for his own blood.
The boy despises his father for all the horrible things he has done to people in the past, yet he still
sticks up for him. After Abner has deliberately destroyed Major DeSpain's expensive imported rug
his son states, "You done the best you could", "If he wanted hit done different why didn't he wait
and tell you how?"(488). Thus providing evidence that the boy still has some respect for his
"blood", and though he is against his father's actions he still supports them because he is family.
Faulkner's use of blood contributes to the theme of loyalty to the family in several ways.
Throughout the short story there are many references to loyalty and sticking to your own blood.
"Barn Burning" is a very in–depth short story and had to be read carefully in order to obtain the full
meaning and recognize the

Analysis of Barn Burning Essay
William Faulkner's story "Barn Burning" occurs in the fictive Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi.
It is a story set in the 1930's, a decade of the Great Depression when social and economic problems
existed. "Barn Burning" is a story about social inequality, in particular with the rich land owning
family de Spain in contrast to the poor tenant farming ways of the Sartoris family.
Abner is the father in the family. He is a cold deviant man. His family is constantly moving around
because of the violent crimes he commits. This creates external conflict between Abner and de
Spain. Out of this argument arises Sarty's argument, that deals with sticking to both his morals and
loyal ties to his family.
Abner has been tried once...show more content...
The black servant in fancy clothes exerts power over him, making Abner feel like a lesser man.
Sarty responds to the elegant home with a "with a surge of peace and joy." It was like a safe
haven from the terror in his life. In contrast, Abner views the house as a reminder of his low
economic status. He probably feels the injustice and becomes enraged. His anger and perhaps
jealousy drives him to destroy the landowner's expensive rug.
When he is charged ten bushels of corn, he is pushed over the edge and plots to destroy Mrs. De
Spain's barn. In his mind, this would create justice. Sarty's moral views kick in when he becomes
aware of his father's evil plan. He turns against his family in part because of his father's betrayal to
his moral beliefs. At the end he feels grief and despair, not terror. Grief may arise from realizing
how immoral his father has become. Sarty still believes that he was a brave man for having fought
in Colonel Sartoris's calvary. Abner was not so heroic though, when in truth he stole horses from
both armies and profited off their sales. Faulkner alludes to character to the Bible where Abner, the
commander in chief of the armies, didn't try hard to protect King Saul's life.
Sarty's mother expresses her emotions towards the actions of her husband, but at the same time she
respects him. She is against the violence and destruction that he creates, but doesn't

Barn Burning Essay
Antonio Webb
Professor Debra Germany
English 2336
14 November 2012
Barn Burning
In "Barn Burning", a short story by William Faulkner, a boy finds that he can no longer be
governed by his father's ideas and tries to prevent his father from doing further harm, and leaves
his family in the process. Sarty Snopes desire is to break away from the moral deficiency of his
family life and live life with some resemblance of normalcy even at the expense of never seeing
his family again. A growing body of evidence, suggest that humans have a moral sense from the
very start of life and family does not instill this moral compass from the very start of life....show
more content...
The Major rides by him on his horse and somewhere up ahead the boy hears a shot and then two
more. The constellations wheeled on. It would be dawn and them sun–up after a while and he would
be hungry, But that would be to–morrow and now he was only cold, and walking would cure that.
His breathing was easier asleep because he knew it was almost dawn, the night almost over. He
could tell that from the whippoorwills. They were everywhere now among the dark trees below
them. He got up. He was a little stiff, but walking would cure that too as it would the cold, and
soon there would be the sun. He went on down the hill, toward the dark woods within which the
liquid silver voices of the birds called unceasing –the rapid and urgent beating of the urgent and
quiring heart of the late spring night. He did not look back. (Baym,Nina) He knows that his
father is torn between love and righteousness and feels sorrow for his father but knows in his heart
he can longer live this way of life. While the story never mentions his age, Barn Burning is a sad
story of a young mans life who knew what was right and wrong and does what has to be done in
the end as conscious would not allow him to continue with his fathers way of life. However this
story illustrates how morality is not developed within the family, but something that is instilled
within us all in the first early years of life.

Barn Burning Essay
Michelle Harvey
Professor M. Parkinson
English 105–04
23 February 2018
The Pull of Blood Forces a Push for Righteousness The saying, "blood is thicker than water" is a
term used to imply that family relationships are always more important than friends. However, at
times it may be hard to choose between family and friends based on right and wrong. In the short
story, Barn Burning, written by "William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize winning novelist of the American
South"("William Faulkner"), choosing between family and doing what is right for honor and justice
is highly expressed. The main character, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, nicknamed Sarty, battles his
thoughts of doing what is right or wrong throughout the story. After following the orders of his
father for ten years, Sarty eventually decides to make his own choice and go against the pull of
blood. Barn Burning has a dark, flatness, and tension–like tone to its...show more content...
He does not have that fierce pull of blood bringing him down. However, this feeling of Sartys does
not last and reality rushes back. That "fear and despair and the old grief of blood" (Faulkner 179)
come back to him, unwelcomed by Sarty. After the court hearing, Sarty receives a beating from a
kid his own size because of his actions of his father. Although Sarty did not wish to, he had
planned to lie in court. Abner figured that Sarty wanted to tell the truth and estimates that his son
was going to betray him and the rest of the family. Abner smacks him, without heat though, and
tells him that he needs to "learn to stick to your own blood, or you ain't going to have any blood
to stick to" (Faulkner 181). Sarty feels defenseless and trapped, and only answers his father with a
simple "yes," probably afraid of getting hit again if he argues. This scene with his father pushes
Sarty to recognize just how much he wants to become

Barn Burning Essay
Barn 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 father antagonism whereas Ab is the protagonist antagonized by the social structure and the
struggle that is imposed on him and his family.
The economic status of the main characters is poor, without hope of improving their condition, and
at the...show more content...
Like nomads they were forced to move constantly. Due to seasons and crop rotation, in order to
secure work they had to reserve land with different landowners.
Ab's emotional instability is a predominant factor contributing to his erratic behavior throughout the
story. The family has moved a dozen times from farm to farm, and at times forced to forfeit their
agreement with the landlord due to Ab's unacceptable behavior. A behavior which throughout the
story is transformed into a rebellion, by Ab smearing the landowner's carpet with horse manure and
then suing him for charging him too much for the damage. These acts symbolize frustration with
the system and a radical approach to rebel against it. Knowing that punishment could not be
avoided when committing such acts, Ab's actions take on a more dramatic meaning as if he is
trying to convey a message. He is aware of the economic injustice and he must respond even at the
risk of him and his family being prosecuted or ostracized.
Ab's constant rebellion is displayed by a rough, sour character and exemplified when he burns his
landlord's barn down. He feels despair and loss, and inflicts damage to whomever he happens to be
working for.
Although the story centers on the feelings and thoughts of Ab's youngest son Sarty, the economic

Theme Of Barn Burning
The story Barn Burning let's the reader view as one of Faulkner's most meaningful short stories
that has ever been written. The stories main theme is the loyalty in which Sarty has to find within
himself, wethers it is to blood or justice. Abner Snopes, Sarty's father keeps on reminding him that
family relations are very important and that he was getting to be a man. He must learn to stick to
family blood or he will not have any blood to sticking to Sarty. In William Faulkner's story Barn
Burning, theme analysis, literary devices, and author's style will be discussed.
Loyalty to your family is more important than loyalty to the law. Sarty has some Loyalty to Abner in
the beginning of the story when Abner wants Sarty to lie to the Justice so...show more content...
The descriptive writing allows the reader to visualize the entire story with all the expert uses of
imagery and the immense ability to evoke emotion for the reader. In ВЁBarn Burning,ВЁ the style of
southern gothic literature is pretty common. In the case of Abner dying and Sarty being somewhat
disfigured by being born premature. "And he springing up and into the road again, running again,
knowing it was too late yet still running even after he heard the shot and, an instant later, two shots,
pausing now without knowing he had ceased to run, crying 'pap! Pap!' " (Faulkner

Essay Barn Burning
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...show more
content...
There are many consequences to bad choices in life. Abner Snopes makes many decisions that
hurt him, his family, and whoever may have tried to do him wrong. He is jealous of the families
that he sharecrops for, and is angry for not being able to be like them "Faulkner's story tells of the
emotional distancing of young Satoris "Sarty" Snopes from his father when he realizes the toll that
his father's penchant for burning the barns of wealthy landowners has on its victims" ( Krstovic
30). Society has basically told him he is lower class due to his resentments of " Abner's
rootless–ness, his continual wandering from place to place, and his contempt for tradition and
order" (Stein 732). His thoughts of them being superior to him bring out feelings of rage and
inferiority. As Abner is angry about being accused of burning down a barn, being driven from the
last town they lived in, and having total disdain for his new land owner, he chooses to take that
anger out on the de Spain family by burning down their barn. Abner's choice to have no regard for
others, gives him bestial like qualities which is evident when he "steps in fresh [horse] droppings"
(Faulkner 1960). He sends

Barn Burning Essay

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