Barn Burning By William Faulkner - 1827 Words

In William Faulkner s story, Barn Burning,† we have a story that depicts a conflict between father and son, each of whom embrace different values. Interwoven into the story is class conflict between wealthy white landowners, tenant farming whites, and sharecropping African Americans. At the same time, you have another conflict between the three this dealing with race. The story also addresses the evils of slavery, tenant, and sharecropping and the vast social economic fallout that is left in the wake of end of the reconstruction era in the South. With the literal barn burning, you have a demonstration of a system that has a monetary imbalance that by design is meant to make the wealthy, wealthier and the poor even more poor at whatever†¦show more content†¦The reasoning for the size of the fire constructed for the family as opposed to the ones that were set for strangers â€Å"a small fire, neat, niggard almost, a shrewd fire; such fires were his father’s habit and custom always, even in freezing weather.† â€Å"Why not a big one; why should not a man who had not only seen the waste and extravagance of war, but who had in his blood an inheritance of voracious prodigality with material not his own, have burned everything in sight?† (Faulkner 354). The beginnings of a turning point manifest themselves here as you see Sartoris imply the reason for such a â€Å"niggard blaze† was in cowardly practice while hiding â€Å"his string of horses† or as Abner referred to them â€Å"captured horses.† (Faulkner 354). Furthermore, Sartoris reasons â€Å"fire spoke to his father’s mainspring, as steel or powder to other men, as the weapon for the preservation of integrity.† (Faulkner 354). Ever the cunning one, Abner sees the struggle within his youngest son and states, â€Å"You were fixing to tell them. You would have told him.† prior to striking him â€Å"with the flat hand on the side of the he ad, hard but without heat.† (Faulkner 355). Consequently, Abner seizes upon the opportunity to explain his family first ideals, an honor/loyalty among thieves, a code if you will however skewed they maybe from what society has deemed as coreShow MoreRelatedBarn 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 Faulkner1357 Words   |  6 Pages William Faulkner’s O. Henry 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†Read MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1193 Words   |  5 PagesIn the short fiction â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner we experience the conflict between Sarty and his father Abner Snopes. â€Å"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.† (Faulkner, p.199). Sarty has an internal conflict choosing right over wrong resulting in being unfaithful to his Father. Author William Faulkner served in the air force and was a clerk at a bookstore before he started writing whichRead 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 sto ry, 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"Barn 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 Faulkner Essay1978 Words   |  8 PagesBarn Burning The short story â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner is the author, published on the date of 1939. Faulkner was born in New Albany, MS on September 25, 1897. William Faulkner was married in 1929 till 1962 to a woman named Estelle Oldham. He died July 6, 1962 in Byhalia, MS. William Faulkner was an American writer and a Noble Prize Laureate from Oxford Mississippi. Mark Twain, James Joyce, William Shakespeare, and many more influenced William. In this short story, Faulkner used aRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner910 Words   |  4 Pagesthe short story Barn Burning by William Faulkner. Sarty is a ten-year-old boy who lives in the south of The United States in the 1890’s. Sarty is the only round character in the story. His father, Abner, expects Sarty to help him burn other people’s barns and lie to the Justice of the Peace. Surprisingly, Sarty has a sense of morality and justice, even though he has been raised by a terrible man. He may have gotten this sense of justice from being in courtrooms so often, or Faulkner is suggesting everyoneRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner1028 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Faulkner is a writer from Mississippi. Faulkner is a very famous writer with most of his most famous works being short stories. Two of his most popular short stories are â€Å"A rose for Emily† along with â€Å"Barn Burning†. Faulkner has many other popular works, but â€Å"Barn Burning† was one of his well-known stories because of the many different of elements of literature in which Faulkner chose to include. Faulkner was known as a writer who could properly convey many different elements of literatureRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner894 Words   |  4 PagesIn the tale Barn Burning, the author William Faulkner formally known for his short stories with a constant theme of Southern Renaissance, racism and modernism uses these themes as a constant reference throughout the story. Faulkner focuses in depth on the antagonist, Abner Snopes and his actions and how they impact other characters throughout the story. I believe Abner was continuously portrayed as a negative character throughout the short story by Abner’s aggressiveness towards everyone he comesRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s Barn Burning999 Words   |  4 Pages Receiving both the Pultizer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature, William Faulkner was an extensively recognized writer in the 20th century. Since the South was his home, Faulkner’s work was known to consist of southern culture and history (MINIBIOGRAPHY). One of his short stories, â€Å"Barn Burning,† published in 1939, followed this southern-style trend. The protagonist is faced with the challenges of loyalty to family and loyalty to the law. This internal battle of right versus wrong is prevalentRead MoreWilliam Faulkner And Barn Burning Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pagesliterature is that the rationalist project fails to produ ce answers to the deepest human questions, is doomed to failure, and that we are on our own for seeking answers to questions about human meaning. (Mr. John Mays) Sarty Snopes in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning, explores these questions of human meaning, which ultimately classifies this modernistic short story. The dichotomy and differences between Sarty and Abner Snopes creates an undeniable tension within the character of Sarty, while he battles