BARN BURNING
Barn Burning is one of the best and most intriguing stories of WilliamFaulkner that presents to us the darker side of human psyche and exploresthe impact of man's so-called evil side and the causes that give birth toit. It is however not a simple story even if it appears to be one on firstreading. The story is complex because it deals with a controversial issueof evil. Through the constant struggle between good and evil, the authorwants us to see who is evil and what is evil in the real sense of the word.On the surface, the story revolves around a poor white man who doesn't wantto be employed by his white master as he considers this employment a kindof imprisonment. In order to avenge the cruel treatment of his richmasters, he burns down every barn he works in. The story however isspecifically about the 10-year old boy who is caught in a situation wherehe has to choose between his father and his own conscience.The story focuses on social and racial discrimination that gives birth toextreme resentment in those who are unable to do anything to bridge thegap. However in the usual cases of discrimination, we encounter a blackfigure pitted against white forces, but in this story, the victim is a poor
the lightweight of his few years, just heavy enough to prevent his soaring free ofthe world as it seemed to be ordered but not heavy enough to keep himfooted solid in it, to resist it and try to change the course of itsevents" (Faulkner, 9). Abner Snopes was a rebel with a dark side, simply the"archetype of unsubmissiveness" (Mitchell). When he is finally caught and acase of arson is lodged against him, we are shown the real meaning andmoral of the story. Sarty's maturity and his ability to see beyondhis emotions makes for a highly "active, intuitive, passionately engagedreading" (Zender, 50) Billingslea also comments on Sarty's mature decisionsaying that the 10 year old boy reflects "the Emersonian blending ofpersonal will with one's fate" (Billingslea, 288). This struggle emerged from the fact that while heloved his father and even understood the reason behind his actions, yet hecouldn't silence his conscience and was driven solely by his moral values. The official family report echoed by Sarty at the end of the story is thatAbner was a brave member of Colonel Sartoris's cavalry. Until the mature Sartyemerges out of the shadows of youth, he is simply a young boy sufferingfrom his youth. This trait is revealed in his military record. Hit's big as a courthouse he thought quietly, with a surge of peace and joy whose reason he could not have thought into words, being too young for that: They are safe from him. Abner on the other hand is blinded by his ownpassion and his frustrations with class gap. This shows that from the very beginning of the story, Sarty knew his fatherwas at fault. His love for his father was deep and intense yet his conscience couldn'tallow him to forgive his father's actions since they were indeed morally,ethically and socially unacceptable even if Abner had his reasons tojustify his actions.
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