The Epiphany of Sartoris Snopes in William Faulkner's "Barn
A character's development is often portrayed through long periods of near stagnancy, culminating in a sudden moment of enlightenment. For Sartoris Snopes in William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", an epiphany put to end a life long inner battle between family loyalty and personal morality. Sarty's grand epiphany came to him as he ran to get a can of oil from his father's barn, but was brought about by Abner's conflicts with Mr. Harris and Major De Spain, and Sarty's revelations about the behavior of his father."Barn Burning" begins amidst both the accusations of Abner setting Mr. Harris' barn on fire, and Sarty's inner conflict over whether or not Mr. Harris was his enemy. Though it goes unspoken, it is clear that Sarty is not completely sure whether or not Mr. Harris has really wronged his father. Through the author's tone, it is implied that Sarty had to force himself to think, "our enemy...mine and his both!" (Faulkner 1). Faulkner writes that Sarty "thought in despair...He's my father!" (Faulkner 1), showing that Sarty was unhappy with his forced hatred o
The constant moves and the multiple atrocities that Sarty had witnessed his father commit, combined with Abner's decision to burn De Spain's barn caused Sarty to undergo a mental evolution. Sarty's revelations about his father's behavior, combined with Abner's personal conflicts with Mr. Sarty's sudden realization that his father's actions were morally corrupt led him to choose a life of individual righteousness. Sarty's inner conflict is temporarily subdued when Abner tells him, "You got to learn to stick to your blood or you ain't going to have any blood to stick to you. It was that fact that made Sarty all the more disillusioned when later, that same night, Abner was getting set to burn the barn. While Sarty was running to get the oil can from the barn, he thought about running on, and never stopping, but made the decision to make his father get caught. Sarty realized that his father had never been a war hero wronged by the world, but a thief, deserving of forced repentance.
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