Barn Burning Analysis Essay

Analysis Of ' Barn Burning ' By William Faulkner
Honesty over Loyalty In "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, loyalty plays as the major theme.
Sarty's family firmly believes in family before anything or anyone else. Sarty has trouble with
this though due to his father's actions. Sarty's father has been burning barns. At the time a
family's barn was their way of life. So what Sarty's father was doing was a big deal. The conflict
between Sarty and his father is so strong because Abner Snopes, Sarty's dad, puts such an
emphasis on being loyal to the family at whatever cost. Sarty stays conflicted over loyalty to his
family or loyalty to what is right until he gets his freedom. Sarty respects his father and is very
loyal to his family. This is part of the conflict because, "Sarty struggles to understand his father 's
downward spiral of anger," (Osborne 1) yet he stills knows Abner is very strict when it comes to
family loyalty. Abner expects a lot, "Ab Snopes has created for the family from which he expects
total loyalty." (Skei 1). Not only is he strict about family loyalty but, "Abner Snopes is also
depicted as a man who will not hesitate to evoke the power of fire against those who oppose
him." (Loges 1). Sarty admires his dad and wants to believe his father will do what is right and
stop burning barns. He learns his father is not exactly what he thought he was. Just as Hans H. Skei
states, "What is abundantly clear is that he is a person who sees no option but to turn to violence
whenever he believes that he has been
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Analysis Of Barn Burning By F. Scott Fitzgerald
In literary works, women are often seen as the subordinate characters to the male protagonist. For
the women in the three short stories; Barn Burning, Where Are You Going Where Have You Been,
and A Good Man Is Hard To Find this ideology holds true. All three stories have male dominance
where the male protagonist spiritually breaks the female lead. Barn Burning, which is set during the
post–bellum time period, address the sexism that was found in that society. After the culture of the
South was destroyed during the civil war and society was attempting to piece itself back together,
Abner Snopes a war veteran but viewed more commonly as white trash. Abner controls his whole
family but specifically his wife Lennie Snopes with fear. He believes that a family should be loyal
to one another despite what they do. Knowing that he is the provider for the family, Abner doesn't
hold back as he lashes out at his family. Lennie, from years of degrading speech, has become
almost completely subordinate to him knowing that she has nowhere and nobody else to turn to.
Having to watch Abner mistreat her children and bring more suffering on her family kills Lennie's
spirits even more. The few times Faulkner mentions the mother she is portrayed as a cowardly,
weak, and powerless person unable to protect the things or people she loves from her husband.
When it comes to Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, the story is staged around a
teenager girl named Connie. While she may appear to

Analysis of The Barn Burning by William Faulkner The short story "Barn Burning" by William
Faulkner is about a ten year old boy, Sarty Snopes, who has grown to realize that his father, Abner
Snopes, provides a life of "despair and grief" as he refuses to accept the "peace and dignity"
generated by the ties with other people. In essence, Sarty is faced with the dilemma of choosing
between his family (his blood) and moral conscience of what is right and wrong. Jane Hiles
interprets this story to be about blood ties through Sartys character in dealing with his internal
conflict with his father. More specifically, Jane Hiles refers to Abners statement, Jane Hiles refers to
Abners statement to Sarty, i.e. "You're getting to be...show more content...
This is shown by the way he communicates with his family and the other characters he comes in
contact with throughout the story, and his actions to show that no one will own or control him. He
has no regard for others or their property as he demonstrated by burning barns and ruining ones rug.
Abner is pretty much an antisocial dominating man living in his own narrow–minded world. The
story is told through the eyes of Abner's innocent son, Sarty. The story begins with Sartys respect
for his father wherein he sees his father before the Court for an accusation of burning Mr. Harris'
barn, and Sarty refers to the people as "our enemy...ourn! Mine and hisn both! He's my father!"
Then the court looked for Sarty for the truth, but he stayed silent as he would have to lie to
defend his father. Deep down Sarty wanted to do the right thing, but only being ten years old he
thought it best to feel and do what his father wanted. As a result of his fathers wrongdoings, the
family was again forced to move within the poor farm country for the twelfth time. However, this
time the landlords home was "big as a courthouse". This was a sign of "peace and joy" for Sarty as
it was different from what he had seen before. This "for the and at that instant he forgot his father
and the terror and despair both. And even when he remembered his father again, the terror and
despair did not return". He

When reading the short story "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, understanding literary elements
such as patterns, word choice as well as reader/writer relationships are essential in appreciating
Faulkner's literary piece. Some of the literary elements found in the story are small and are almost
immaterial while others are large and all–encompassing. For example, the mother's fragmented
clock, a small and insignificant object, is used so carefully in order to extract the maximum effect
from the viewers; the keen, but more frequent use of dialectal terms which contain clandestine,
secondary meanings; and finally, the relationship between the reader and writer,William Faulkner's
choice of narrator as well as the point of view works...show more content...
She was crying" (Faulkner 4). Her unhappiness is clearly justified in the story by Abner's
treatment of her. He is unfriendly and demands her to abide under him, not to mention her feeling
of hopelessness and the despair about their way of life. One very captivating and questionably
deliberate use of words by Faulkner is the exchange of the terms "hit" for "it" as well as "kin" for
"can." The usage of these terms are clearly used to convey the character's southern drawl; however,
the way Faulkner decides to place these substitutions within the sentences, clearly show the
possibility of the meanings of the substituted words. "William Faulkner has long been categorized as
a Southern writer of the oral tradition–one whose writing shows a keen awareness of the regional
sounds of language and speech" (Mcdonald 46). For example, in the dialogue between Sarty and
his mother, just after he was struck and knocked down by a boy outside the courthouse, the term
"hit" can be interpreted in two ways. " His mother's hand touched his shoulder. 'Does it hurt?' she
said. 'Naw,' he said. 'Hit don't hurt. Lemme be.' 'Can't you wipe some of the blood off before hit
dries?'"(Faulkner 5). Certainly, Faulkner makes sure to include other accented words like "Naw"
and "Lemme" in order to make the usage of "hit" more justifiable. Also, Sarty uses both the terms
"hit" and "kin" after Sarty's father is informed of the repercussions of ravaging Major de Spain's

How Does Sarty Change
Even though young Sarty despises his father's (Abner) crimes, why does he keep these crimes to
himself and not expose his father? Throughout the text of "Barn Burning", Sarty seems to have
repetitive feelings of grief and despair, yet he hesitates to out his father for his crimes. Sarty is
hesitant to out his father for his crimes because he hopes his father will change, he fears his father
will harm him physically or emotionally, and he places a priority on his family's wellbeing before his
own. First, Sarty hesitates to reveal his father's crimes to others because he hopes that his father
may change. Sarty is hoping that his father will change, but without him having to act against his
father. This can be seen when Sarty is astonished by the gargantuan house of Mr. De Spain. There,
Sarty thinks; "'Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he
couldn't help but be.'" (Faulkner, 40) He wants his father to change because he is tired of the life
that his father is making him and his family live. Sarty and his family have moved 12 times within
the past year. Each move, based on the past two moves, is more than likely based off the fact that
Sarty's father has either burned another barn or damaged someone else's property again. Plus, on
top of that, Abner never seems to get his family out of this pit of despair. It's a never–ending cycle.
Although Sarty is trying to convince himself that his father will change without force, his father's

Analysis Of Barn Burning
Barn Burning is a story by William Faulkner, a native of Oxford, Mississippi. The story starts off
in a small town court which is also a store. Mr. Harris who owns a barn, is blaming Mr. Snopes for
burning down his barn. The judge asks Mr. Harris what proof he has, but he doesn't have proof
that he actually did it. Instead he thinks Mr. Snopes has it out for him because one time Mr.
Snopes hog got out in Mr. Harris cornfield. He demands a dollar for his return, but instead Snopes
sent someone to get it and warned him that wood is capable of catching fire. And that night Harris
barn caught on fire. But this isn't enough to convict him of this. But this doesn't stop Mr. Harris, he
calls Mr. Snopes son to see what he knows. Nothing happens, but the judge wants Mr. Snopes to
leave because he has had nothing but trouble. The family heads home and later that night Mr.
Snopes wakes his son Sartoris and claims that he was going to throw him under the table and say
he did it. The family then settles in a new location, where they will work for Major de Spain.
Snopes being the person he is, walks into Major's house with mud on his boots making a mess.
Later that day Snopes is asked to clean the rug he pretty much destroyed. Snopes cleans it like
someone that has never cleaned before, making it worse. He returns the rug and the next day is
confronted by Major. Major wants to be payed for his destroyed rug. Snopes denies paying and is
taken to court. He loses in court and this makes him very mad. Snopes then tries to burn down
Majors barn. But Sartoris runs and tells Major. Major comes and kills Snopes before he could do
any damage. The tragedy of this story is that Sartoris knows that eventually that his father is either
going to kill someone or be killed because of all the wrong doing. Sartoris wants to snitch on his
father, but he is scared that he might not make it out of the court room and doesn't want his family
to shun him for turning on his blood. The superior force that pushes Sartoris to go against his father
is when he gets hit by his father because he thought he was going to tell on him. Also that he keeps
ruining other people's stuff and life. One of these times he isn't going to just hurt someone's stuff,

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 Analysis
The story I read that has a character that decision will alter his life forever is the "BARN
BURNING" by William Faulkner. In the story the boy sarty is 12 years old and is forced to lie in
defense of his father, in what he calls fierce pull of blood which means he will lie to protect his
father or family in their wright or wrong doings. In the first case of the barn burnings that sarty's
father was accused of a black gentleman try to tell the owner of the barn that sarty's father and
family were going burn it down, without having the black man present for questioning they were
forced to drop the charges, and run the family out of town. At the time of the first encounter with the
charters we can see the inner turmoil in sarty to be forced to

Barn Burning Analysis Essays
Summary of central events: Mr. Snopes burns Mr. Harris barn because Mr. Harris charges him,
"a dollar pound fee," (515) for the return of his hog. In court the judge dismisses the charges
against Snopes but warns him to leave the town for good and Snopes agrees to comply. The next
day the family arrives at their new home. After Snopes tracks horse manure onto the expensive
rug, the server instructs him to clean and return it. Snopes ruins the rug from improper cleaning
and Major de Spain "charge[s] [him] twenty bushels of corn against [his] crop" (521). At the last
court appearance the judge decides that Mr.Snopes has to pay Major de Spain 10 bushels of corn
for the ruin of the rug. Because Snopes is upset from having to pay de Spain for...show more
content...
Violence and conflict surrounds him "[h]is father [strikes] him with the flat of his hand on the
side of head..." (517). He battles with decision making that is between his family and justices.
Being overwhelm with despair, fear and grief, Sartoris eventually frees himself from his father
and his oppressive family life. Theme: The theme is standing for justices can sometimes lead to
losing friends and family. Sartoris must decide which is more important loyal to family or
loyalty to the law. According to Snopes, family loyalty is value above all else "[y]ou got to learn
to stick to your own blood or you ain't going have any blood to stick to you" (517). Snopes bases
his idea of loyalty on family notions of right and wrong. Sartoris rejects his father idea of family
loyalty and instead betrays his father, warning de Spain his "[b]arn" (525) is going to burn. Sarty
breaks away and end up alone but in peace. Other noteworthy literary elements: Several events
occur under the cover of darkness throughout the story. For example, Mr. Harris barn "[t]hat night
my barn burned" (515). "[T]hat night they camped out"(517) on the roadside on their way to their
new sharecroppers' house and when Snopes, "[y]ou were fixing to tell them. You would have told
him" beats Sartoris for planning to reveal his wrong doing at the courthouse. When Snopes attempts
to burn Major de Spain barn it was also at night. "At midnight he was sitting on the crest of a hill,"

Setting and Theme in Barn Burning Essay
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...show more content...
Major de Spain lived the life of a wealthy southerner, a life that Abner would never have. When
Major de Spain told Abner, "It cost a hundred dollars...but you never had a hundred dollars...you
never will," it caused Abner to feel a greater sense of animosity toward de Spain because he knew
himself that he was not the type of man fit to be the head of the household and probably never
would be, which was why he felt that he had to burn down de Spain's barn. Sarty went along with
all that his father did because of the impact of his father's words on him, "You got to learn to stick
to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood to stick to you." He also knew that they
were of the poor class, struggling to put food on the table; as much as he disagreed he could not
express himself. Sarty disagreed with everything his father did and wanted to tell him, but he knew
that his father would leave him to fend for himself. Subconsciously Sarty admired de Spain's life,
"peace and dignity were beyond his touch."
Faulkner himself defended Abner's character in an interview with Jane Hiles called "Blood Ties in
"Barn Burning."" The Great Depression was a time when the poor felt "alienated from the
politically and economically dominant groups" and focused primarily on the "feeling of blood, of
clan, blood for blood." The family had to come together regardless of any criminal activity or
immoral choices for the survival of the group. The interview

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

The theme of loyalty is woven throughout American Literature. In the 20th Century as the Realism
and Naturalism of the 1800s faded, American culture developed into a modern and post–modern one,
values shifted. William Faulkner, winner of the Nobel prize in 1950 (EncyclopГ¦dia Britannica,
2017), captures this exploration of loyalty in his short story, ВЁBarn BurningВЁ. From construction
work, to care taker to celebrated author, John Steinbeck weaves deep themes into simple settings,
captivating his readers (EncyclopГ¦dia Britannica, 2017). His short story, ВЁThe
ChrysanthemumsВЁ is one such piece. Boldly authentic in the racial struggles of the 1900s,
Langston Hughes poetically portrays his loyalty in ВЁHarlemВЁ and ВЁI TooВЁ. Through story
and poetry, Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Hughes display tensions in the loyalty to family, self, and truth,
influencing readers to ponder their levels of loyalty.
In the 20th Century, the definitions of honor and loyalty to family changed. Cultural norms once
expected a son to continue his fatherВґs business or craft. This became the exception in the modern
era with more emphasis put on the individualsВґ talents and interests. In ВЁBarn Burning,ВЁ
William Faulkner describes the tension of loyalty between a son and father. Mr. Snopes, a proud and
unruly man, burned his neighborВґs barn after an unresolved disagreement with the neighbor.
Following the court scene in which there was not enough conclusive evidence to sentence the guilty
man, Mr. Snopes left the town with his family. The judge had almost called Mr. Snopes son Salty to
testify against him, but the he did not. After the close call of being caught, Mr. Snopes questioned
and then beat his son because he suspected that Salty would have told the judge the truth (Faulkner,
1939).
ВґВЁYou were fixing to tell them. You would have told him...ВЁВ
ґ
ВґВЁYouВґre getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or
you ainВґt going to have any blood to stick to you (Faulkner, 1939).ВЁВґ
Mr. Snopes valued his reputation and his sonВґs loyalty to him and the family more than his loyalty
to truth and virtue. This exploration of Faulkner signals the cultural modern change. In the realist
1800s, it would have been apparent that

In "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, the main focus is on the Snopes family. Sarty Snopes is a
ten–year–old boy, who has to deal with his demeaning father, Abner–who has recently been
convicted of arson, so the family is forced to move out of town. Because of this conviction, Sarty
is put in a very uncomfortable situation where he might have to testify against his father, which
causes several conflicts within the story. Faulkner uses Sarty to portray that not every child
grows up with ideal parents that genuinely care for he or she. Faulkner exemplifies this truth
through pathos, symbolism, theme, and diction. Will Sarty be courageous and fight against his
father or will he join his father and become a coward, like him? Faulkner exemplifies the
hardships of some children through Sarty by appealing to the reader's pathos. By definition,
pathos is "an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by
creating an emotional response" (YourDictionary). Sarty explains his feelings by saying, "Maybe
he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he couldn't help but be"
(Vidal, et. al). The reader can almost feel the sympathy pouring out of this little child's voice, which
automatically makes the reader feel sorry for him. Sarty is hopeful that since his father has to pay
for the rug that he ruined, then maybe he will feel resentment and realize what he has done wrong.
He wants his father to change his ways, but he

William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" describes a typical relationship between wealthy
people and poor people during the Civil War. The main character, Abner Snopes, sharecrops to
make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of resentment for wealthy people, he
goes and burns their barns to get revenge. Abner's character over the course of the story is
unchanging in that he is cold hearted, lawless, and violent.<br><br>First, Abner's unchanging
character shows his cold heartedness. After being sentenced to leave the country for burning a man's
barn, he shows no emotions to his family. During the story, there was not a time when he apologized
or offered a word of encouragement to them. His tone of voice when talking...show more content...
Abner's act of breaking the law begins when he was supposed to be fighting in the Civil War, but
instead he stole horses from both sides of the lines. When Abner returned home, he continued his
act of breaking the law by committing arson. At the beginning of the story, Abner is in a
makeshift courtroom where he is being tried for burning Mr. Harris' barn. There was no evidence
to rule against Abner so he was advised to leave the country. "I aim to. I don't figure to stay in a
country among people whoВ…" (217). After sly remarks of "barn burner"(218) from a group of
people standing near, Abner tells his family to get in the wagon and get ready for travel. Abner
and his family traveled to their next house where things got off to a bad start. Just a few days had
gone by and Abner took Major DeSpain to court claiming his fine was to high for the damage he
did to his rug. The court ruled in DeSpain's favor fining him, "to the amount of ten bushels of corn
over and above your contract with him, to be paid to him out of your crop at gathering time" (226),
thus setting off Abner's anger. As a result he set out that night and put DeSpain's barn on fire.
<br><br>Finally Abner's unchanging character is revealed not only in his role as

Barn Burning Literary Analysis
The third and final way that literary devices are used to develop a theme is through the use of
unity in "Barn Burning". Throughout the story one image that shows up multiple times in order
to unify the central theme or conflict, is the image of a fire. Wether its a small fire just to keep
the family warm or the huge fires caused by Abner to destroy other farmers barns. In other words,
fire represents a form of control for Abner in a world that has allowed him little control over his
circumstances. In Abners case fire is used to destroy, but it also helps sustain life. This adds irony to
the story due to the fact that fire represents destruction and anger while at the same time represents
survival and self control. As much as Abner might seem

Literary Analysis of Barn Burning Essay example
A Literary Analysis of Barn Burning
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?
The main character and protagonist in this story is a boy named Colonel Sartoris. In this story, Sarty
is faced with the decision of either going along with the views and actions of his morally challenged
father or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away and leaving his family and his
pain behind.
The antagonist in the story is...show more content...
Next, we are introduced to the antagonist, Abner Snobes, when he talks for the first time since the
trial began. He also establishes the fact that he plans to move himself and his family out of town. We
are then introduced to the rest of Sarty's family.
The inciting force takes place after Sarty and his family move to a house owned by a man named
De Spain, under the assumption that they will cultivate De Spain's farm and give him a portion
of the crop. After the family moves into the house, Abner decides to have a word with De Spain,
so he and Sarty make their way to De Spain's house. In the book Short Story Criticism, Edmond
Volpe states that "De Spain's house is obviously an important symbol for Sarty because his
immediate response to the site of the house is to compare it to a symbol of justice, the
courthouse" (163). Along the walk, Abner walks with such arrogance that he treads right through
a pile of horse manure. In the next scene, the inciting force is established. In this scene, Abner
proceeds to go into De Spain's house and wipes his soiled feet all over De Spain's expensive rug.
In the book Short Story Criticism, Edmond Volpe states that "Ab does not discriminate between
rich and poor. For him there are only two categories: 'blood kin' and 'they,' into which he clumps all
the rest of mankind" (163). This attitude is also evident by the role that Abner played in the Civil
War, in which he had stolen

Critical Analysis Of Barn Burning
Kaitlyn Booth
Humanities
Dr. Davis
November 20, 2017
Barn Burning Critical Essay In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," the audience gets a glimpse of
the ongoing trouble between a son and his father. The son, Sarty, must decide what is best for
himself instead of standing up for his father's wrong choices. The father, Abner, is a jealous,
unforgiving, unapologetic, and disrespectful man. However, Sarty overcomes the negative actions
and rises against his family to do what it truly right. The theme of this story is that the right thing
is to always stand up for the right thing. Doing the right thing is proof of coming of age, and
showing maturity. Since the beginning, Sarty knew his father wasn't treating people fairly. Sarty
states, "Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he
couldn't help but be" (Faulkner 20). The quote is stated as Sarty and Abner make their way to the
de Spain house. Sarty is hoping his father had learned his lesson from ruining the rug and will do
the right thing this time around. Abner never learns his lesson and believes the men in the family
should act like him. Proving this statement, Abner says, "You got to learn to stick to your own
blood" (Faulkner 42). Although Abner believes Sarty is following in his footsteps, Sarty is more
mature than he is and hates doing the things his father makes him do. For example, Abner expects
Sarty to lie about his testimony. Sarty states, "He aims for me to lie ... And I will have to do hit"
(Faulkner 57). Sarty is not the only one who knows his father is up to no good, Major de Spain
also sees it. Major de Spain explains, "He aims for me to lie ... And I will have to do hit"
(Faulkner 64). Although Major de Spain is not on Abner's side, Abner's family is. Sarty's brother
tries to stop Sarty from telling on Abner by yelling, "Better tie him to the bedpost" (Faulkner 74)!
Again, Sarty is very determined to do the right thing, and save Major de Spain's barn by
commenting to his own mother, "Lemme go! ... I don't want to have to hit you" (Faulkner 87)! At
the end of the story, Sarty eventually goes against his family and walks into the woods away from
everyone. This is a huge symbol because it demonstrates Sarty

"Barn burning", a story by William Faulkner, tell the story about a boy called Sartoris that decides
to "betray" his dad for committing crimes like burning barns. Sartoris, who is just starting to see the
difference between right and wrong, has been covering up his dad's crimes, and in some occasions,
helping him to commit them. His dad thinks this is the only way to make justice if anyone messes
with him or his family. Eventually,Sartoris starts to analyze the severity of his dad's actions and
chooses not to help him anymore in his attempt to burn the second barn belonging to his new
boss, De Spain. Faulkner's message in his work can vary from the perspective of every reader.
Jane Hiles, in her essay "Blood Ties in Barn Burning", states that Faulkner's intention wasn't to
recognize Sartori's decision, but to support his dad's beliefs of being loyal to him and his family.
Even if it means that he has to help him with the crimes. As evidence, she presents an interview
directed to Faulkner in which he says that in order for his people to survive against the conquerors
they needed to remain as a clan. "Faulkner delivered an appraisal of the phenomenon of clannishness
that bears considerable relevance to Abner Snope's defensive posture in Barn Burning", she states.
As it seems, this literary piece might be very complex to get a conclusion from. Personally, I
believe Faulkner does want his audience to debate about his work. One of that reasons I believe
this is because he does not give specific resolutions to the problems he presents. As an example, at
the end, Snopes gets killed because Sartoris tells the truth to De Spain of what his dad is about to
do. However, there is a lack of information about the outcomes of this event. Faulkner ends with this
statement: "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." This ending makes the reader questions about the impact
this event has in Sartoris' family. Does the family walk away from Sartoris and leave him alone for
"betraying" his dad, or do they understand the background of his action?

Barn Burning Sarty Analysis
Not only is "Barn Burning" about the in the hereditary sense of "blood ties," but it is also about how
a young boy's conscience dictates his actions. It is through Faulkner's use of
stream–of–consciousness narration that the reader is aware of Sarty's innermost thoughts and
feelings. It seems that Sarty is of good nature: he has a strong sense of morality, loyalty and
humility. Throughout the story, Sarty tries to imagine that Abner might change his behavior.
"Maybe he [Abner] will feel it too," thought Sarty as him and his father walked up to Major de
Spain's grand farmhouse, feeling safe and confident, "[m]aybe it will even change him now from
what maybe he couldn't help but be" (pg 518). But, yet again, his father disappoints Sarty by
smearing horse droppings on Major de Spain's fancy white rug. After Abner's second hearing
regarding de Spain's rug, Sarty expresses his hopelessness as feeling "terror and grief, the being
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522). "Maybe this is the end of it", thought Sarty to himself, "[m]aybe even that twenty bushels
that seems hard to have to pay for just a rug will be a cheap price for him to stop forever and
always from being what he used to be" (pg. 522). However, Sarty's dreams of his father changing
were no more than just that: dreams. Once Sarty realized that there was seemingly no hope for his
father, it was much easier for him to decide to run away – Sarty will no longer succumb to the false
hero he thought Abner was. "I could keep on," Sarty thought to himself as he was running to fetch
the oil can as commanded by his father, "I

Analysis Of The Poem ' Barn Burning '
Burn the woman Murakami Haruki, a well–known Japanese writer, is famous for Norwegian Wood.
He also writes other excellent literary works, like The elephant vanishes, Kafka on the Shore. He
not only creates novels, also writes good short stories. Barn burning is a good example that reflects
Murakami's style and his concerns about the people, who live on the fringe of society. In this story,
the barn actually is a metaphor. It represents a woman. Burning barns means killing the woman.
There are only three characters in the Barn burning, the narrator, a lonely woman and her rich,
mysterious boyfriend. The narrator met a woman and sometimes had a meal with her. They were
not real friends; didn't know each other very well. The woman went back to Japan with her rich
boyfriend after staying in Thuis for three months. When three people had a small party, the boyfriend
told the narrator he burned many barns in the past and would burn a barn near the narrator's house.
After investigation, the narrator didn't find any barns disappeared, although the boyfriend told him
he indeed burned a barn. In the end, the woman disappeared. There are a few questions. Is there
any underlying meaning of the barns? What did the boyfriend mean by burning barns? Did the
boyfriend actually kill the woman or the woman just disappeared literally? As far as I am
concerned, the barns represent the lonely woman and a group of people, who live a life like the
woman. Burning barns means kill the woman. I'd

Barn Burning Analysis Essay

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Barn Burning Analysis Essay