Barn Burning
William Faulkner's Barn Burning is a story about a poor family that moves from one rural Mississippi town to another because of the father's, Abner Snopes, actions. The story begins at Abner's hearing for setting fire to The Harris's barn after a dispute over a bothersome pig. We get a glimpse into his son Sarty's mind and see that Abner has completely brainwashed him into thinking that everybody is their enemy and out to get them. Although Sarty maintains his loyalty to his father for as long as he can, he is eventually driven by numerous reasons to leave home. One of the reasons Sarty leaves is because he realizes there is a life out there for him that is not full of the fear, grief, and despair caused by his father that he feels now. He is called to the stand to testify and thinks to himself "He aims for me to lie, he thought, again with that frantic grief and despair."(page 398) He is so blinded by these emotions that he "could not see that the Justice's face was kindly" and saw him only as his and his father's enemy, though the judge had done no harm to them.(page 398) As he is working the fields with his brother, he hopes that everything vanishes, "corn, rug, fire, the terror and grief; the being pulled two ways like b
Sarty goes against his father's will for the first time when he runs ahead to the de Spain's and tries to warn them about their barn getting burned. And when Abner tells Sarty that the judge and Mr. Not only does Sarty finally understand that what his father does is wrong, he probably takes it as a personal attack on himself as well as on the de Spain's and that is very possibly a correct conclusion. (page 399) He is starting to realize that his father only does these things to beat the other person. He begins to realize that what his father does is wrong, but cannot even admit it to himself. Sarty knows that he will never be able to learn the right way to live as long as he stays with his family, so he leaves. (page 400) Abner is a terrible father to Sarty. Even his father could not jog Sarty's memory back to thinking of his despair. The house really brings a new sense of hope to Sarty that is unfamiliar to him and in one fell swoop, his father damages a part of this symbol. Harris "only wanted to get at [him] because they knew [he] had them beat," Sarty thinks to himself that all they really wanted was truth and justice, but he does not tell his father this because his father would hit him again. Another reason he leaves is because he begins to realize that his father is not a good person and that he does not have to put up with his father's abuse any longer. Abner knows that the house means something to Sarty and is jealous or feels inadequate about it or both. " (page 405) He also gains a sense of hope as he approaches the de Spain's time for the first time.
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Acceptance Essays
