Barn Burning
Colonel Sartoris Snopes, who is called "Sarty" by his family, is a major character in William Faulkner's "Barn Burning." This young boy of about ten finds himself in the position of being expected to lie to protect his father from punishment for burning the neighbor's barn. Sarty's character in "Barn Burning" is a study of the physical and spiritual relationships between a father and son that are born out in the reality of truth versus lies as evidenced in Sarty's Personal integrity. In "Barn Burning" Faulkner writes about the relationship between a father and his son in both the hereditary and the spiritual sense. Sarty early in the story respects his father because of his father's service in the military and the clannish code found in southern families without regard to social status. The young boy was not really aware of his father's good or bad qualities or of the complexities of his father's behavior. He was aware that his father was facing a court. He was not yet openly aware of the way he really felt about his father's activities and the fact that he might have to dispute his f
ather's word in effect overthrow customary behavior, hereditary codes, and family ties. Sarty's conduct surprises the reader because he did not follow the mores of the time, but instead exercised his self-reliant spirit that frequently conflicts with blood ties. The terror and fear of his childhood have given way to grief and to the courage his own free choice required. Sarty viewed the town as their "enemy. His father relied on complicity of the entire Snopes clan for support and security. Sarty wants to be better than his nature wants him to be. His father was a victim of this society, which robbed him of his pride and pushed him to action much like clanism. He did not resent the fact that his family might always be sharecroppers and never really own anything. In the "Barn Burning" Faulkner captures a moment in time that focuses on Sarty's struggle to discover who he is, his place in time, and his relationship with those in his family who he loved. He has the courage of his convictions, but they are different from those of his father. Sarty saw the people who were beyond his touch. He depended on the clan for protection from society at large. " His father is unable to understand this love that transcends family ties. He was far too young to understand his father and the complexities of the moral choice he must make. Sarty does not fallow in his father's footsteps as they leave court but instead breaks rank and fights not out of self-righteousness but out of love.
Common topics in this essay:
Burning Faulkner,
Barn Burning,
Sartoris Snopes,
barn burning,
Sarty's Personal,
barn burning faulkner,
called sarty,
betrayed father,
burning faulkner,
father son,
aware father's,
family ties,
ties sarty,
sarty's struggle,
|
Acceptance Essays
