Sarty is faced with the hard choice of being a loyal son and doing the right thing. In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" his father, Abner, is an ex-horse thief with a tendency to set fire to the barns of landowners that upset him. Sarty Snopes, ten years old, struggles with the idea that he must act like his father's son and be loyal to his "blood." Continually reminded of how important family ties are, he feels he must mind his father.
             Abner's continuous behavior of burning peoples' barns has caused Sarty's family to move often. Although no one can prove it was Abner's doing the family still must pick up and leave for fear of retribution. This is hard considering he is a tenant farmer, leasing farmland from landowners and repaying them with part of his crop at the end of the season. These aren't random outbursts of violence, but devised plans to get back at people by destroying a vital part of life in the 18th Century: their barns. Knowing that he is going to enact his revenge on people, he makes arrangements in advance to move onto new land. Sarty must deal with the constant moves and wonders if his father's actions are just.
             With most of his family being either in the same mind set as his father or apathetic to his father's actions, Sarty must choose which is more important, morality or family. His father warns him that if he turns his back on his family, no one will be there to watch his back. Even Sarty's older brother obeys his father no matter what he does. This increases his belief that as a son he must be loyal to his father. He knows that if he questions his father's actions there will almost definitely be physical repercussions. For now he can do nothing but follow his father's orders.
             When Abner decides to scorch his latest landlord's barn Sarty must finally make a choice. Abner indirectly questions Sarty's loy...