Barn Burning by William Faulkner
Destruction by burning can be seen in more than one way in "BarnBurning" by William Faulkner. The most obvious act of burning down barnsis an outward expression of Abner's inner turmoil for the life he bitterlyhates. The impact of Abner's violence can be seen in Abner's family,especially Sarty as he comes to see the destruction his father causes.This paper will examine the impact of Abner's anger and how it effects his Abner's anger causes his son to feel distant from him. We can see howSarty comes to realize this only as a grown man when we are told, "Later,twenty years later, he was to tell himself, `If I had said they wanted onlytruth, justice, he would have hit me again'" (477). We can also pull from the text that Abner is able to tolerate hislandlords' insults because he knows he can always get even by burning abarn. It seems as though Abner experiences great pleasure of being able todetermine the time and place of a burning--generally after he has foundanother place for the family to live. The burning not only allows Abnerto control his own anger; the burning allows him to control his landlord'sreaction. Because he is burning down precious property, Abner almost
es his escape because the landlord will work to put out the firethan chase after Abner and his family. Abner's anger also impacts Sarty because it skews Sarty's thinking. Not only does he destroy the physical belongings of others,he destroys the relationship he has with his family. We are told, People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are behindhis touch, he no more to them than a buzzing wasp: capable ofstinging for a little moment but that's all; the spell of this peaceand dignity rendering even the barns and stable and cribs whichbelong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive. Sarty is the only member of the family who acts on his own conscience. Sarty has no real sense of his father's anger, nor can he understandwhere it is coming from. However, the impact of Abner's anger turns out to bedeeper and than Sarty can realize. This hope is important, for itwill be what drives the boy to leave his family. Sarty anticipated his father's reactions because he was not able topredict what his father would do. Maybe it will even change him nor from what maybe he couldn'thelp but be" (478). This exchange illustrates theyoung boy's attempt to find something good within his father. Abner never tries to make himself a better man.
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