ipl-logo

Themes In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

1010 Words5 Pages

“Barn Burning” William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” shows what happens when a boy is faced with making decisions about morals and loyalty to one's own family. Sarty is the son of a man who burns barns and has no regard for what society expects. The themes in “Barn Burning” show the conflict of the characters. For the boy, the themes that apply are “the human heart in conflict with itself” and ‘’the need to balance between demands of self and responsibility to one’s society.” Sarty is faced with a tough internal conflict. For him, a decision needs to be made, and there are really only two choices available for him. He can either stay loyal to his blood, or do what is morally correct and run away from that lifestyle. In the opening scene, he is forced to defend his father in court because he feels as if he has to, not because he wants to. His father takes him aside one night and tells him,”You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you”(485). Sarty knows that if he turns against his family, he may lose them. Then, he would have no idea what to do. Having loyalty to his father and defending him …show more content…

Sarty is just a young boy who is being put in a situation where he has to make difficult choices. His conflicts are internal conflicts that involve choosing between doing what is right and his family. The theme “the human heart in conflict with itself” can be applied to Sarty’s desire to pursue law and justice in hopes of peace, but being held down by his loyalty to his family. The second theme, “the need to balance between demands of self and responsibility to one’s society”, can be summarized as Sarty wanting a balance between what he needs from his family and the desire to do what is right. Faulkner's themes used in “Barn Burning” well describe the internal conflicts that the boy, Sarty, is going

Show More
Related

  • Emily Grierson Compare The Old South To The New South

    919 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this story Faulkner uses the life of the main character Emily Grierson to compare the old south to the new south. Faulkner uses a “we-narrator” to tell the story so that it is representing the entire community when the narrator speaks. Emily represents the old south in the fact that her dad kept her closed off from the rest of the world for thirty years. He would not allow her to go out with anyone and if anyone came to take her out he would send them away. After years of solitude it was like she was there in town, but separated from the town at the same time.

    Read More

  • Chaos Against Order In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

    1008 Words  | 5 Pages

    The focus is more towards Sarty Snopes, but very well appears to focus on his father as well. The story wastes no time in establishing and showing the reader the relationship between Sarty and his father. His father immediately makes the connection between his son and himself hostile and toxic to a certain extent. What is used to paint such a distasteful collaboration of these characters is very real, earthly methods of manipulation. Sarty’s father turns a good value, loyalty, and twists it using it in a disgusting way to benefit himself.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loyalty In Barn Burning By Sarty

    723 Words  | 3 Pages

    But, in this case Sarty have to decide if being loyal to his family or loyal to the law is more important. As we may all know that a father and son relationship is supposed to have the tightest bond that consist of LOYALTY? In “Barn Burning” Sarty is broken between his loyalty to his family and an inner more sense of justice. At the beginning of the story it starts off with loyalty.

    Read More

  • Walter Lee Younger In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    778 Words  | 4 Pages

    He is starts to see that being respectable is worth more than be rich. When the play ends he is a man that redeemed himself by overcoming trials. He goes from being hot-blooded to being gentle and able to talk things out. He goes from being immature to being able to be the head of the house and ends up making decisions that benefit all of the Youngers. He changed because the only way he would have successfully made it through the events in the play was to fix himself as a

    Read More

  • Change In Williams Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    1252 Words  | 6 Pages

    In Williams Faulkner 's ‘A Rose for Emily’, a local narrator provides a very personally nuanced and chronologically disjoined narrative. Through this lens Faulkner uses the imagery and symbols of the Grierson home, Emily as a monument, Homer’s body, in “A Rose for Emily” to convey the theme of change vs. decay, especially as it relates to the American South and its traditions. Although he describes particular individuals within Jefferson (Miss Emily, the older men and ladies, the town leaders), he seems to be using them as symbols for the larger issues that the South was facing at the turn of the twentieth century. This paper discusses how Faulkner uses imagery and metaphor to highlight on the necessity of adaptation in changing times. This

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner we see how he foreshadows that Emily is the murderer of Homer. Within the introduction we are told that William Faulkner was a Southern writer who loved to write comedy and tragedy. I would definitely consider “A Rose for Emily” one of his best tragedy that he has written as it contains suspense and foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is defined as a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Language In 'Fahrenheit 451' By Ray Bradbury

    1078 Words  | 5 Pages

    The manner of how you look to something will determine its meaning and importance. Books are as such, because based on the manner you chose to analyze, it may become noticeable indirect thoughts hidden within the text. In Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, for example, these deeper and sometimes hidden connotations are evident in different passages throughout the story. One event that can be remarked by such analyzation is from page 58 to 61, when Beatty, an important character shares his point of view of life through an extensive and convincing speech to Montag, the protagonist. If looking meticulously through different perspectives and through critical lenses such as psychoanalysis and new criticism, it becomes evident the importance

    Read More

  • Brutality Of War In 'My Brother Sam Is Dead'

    878 Words  | 4 Pages

    He has to choose between a Loyalist, his Father’s side, or a Patriot, his brother’s side. Throughout the story he changes his sides until he finally

    Read More

  • Loyalty In Barn Burning

    1005 Words  | 5 Pages

    Going back to the quote at the beginning, loyalty is a key part of this story. It is Sarty’s undying loyalty to his terrible father that drives the story forward. The first scene we come to where Sarty displays loyalty to his father is when Abner is on trial for the crime of burning down a black man’s barn. The court decides they want Sarty to testify. Sarty decides that he must defend his father because loyalty to family is very important

    Read More

  • Miss Emily Grierson And Trifles: The Act Of Two Murders

    1217 Words  | 5 Pages

    Miss Emily comes from an old wealthy line of family in the deep south. Faulkner story is highly symbolic, enhancing miss Emily’s values and character. “Miss Emily is described as a fallen monument to the chivalric American South”(Allmon). Faulkner uses the setting of the story to show the emotional state of Emily. The female-male relationship between Emily and her father is strict, oppressive, and controlling; Their relationship has a major impact on Emily’s character Throughout the short story.

    Read More

  • Heroism In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

    764 Words  | 4 Pages

    Darl Bundren’s act of arson exhibits heroism because he performed the act for the sake of others. Faulkner uses irony to subvert the preconceived notions of heroism. Although the protagonist was sent to a mental institute at the end of the novel for

    Read More

  • Examples Of Suspense In A Rose For Emily

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    By using unconventional plot structure, Faulkner has created a complex method of storytelling to explore the moral shortcomings of Southern values and ethics during the American Civil War through the means of Emily, a character who is socially and mentally trapped in the old

    Read More

  • Essay On Gender Roles In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    584 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Faulkner is a complex writer who knows how to set a great pace in his stories. He is also a very flexible writer which allows the openness of many topics to write on because of his unconventional style. In his short story, "A Rose for Emily", you can interpret how times are so different from today. Although it was not during slavery times, things were not much more advance than that. The dominance of gender or social roles shown on women, particularly Miss Emily, may be seen as harsh or unfair.

    Read More

  • Sarty Snopes Character Analysis

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    Abner Snopes tells his son that he has to be loyal to his family or he is going to end up alone. This cause a dilemma for Sarty because he was to be loyal to his father, but he wants to do the right thing with the court of law. The development of the character changes was gradual and obvious to the reader. When Sarty saw De Sapin maison represents a better life. Abner Snopes would abuse his son and one particular moment Sarty realize that he did not want to live in fear with his father rules.

    Read More

  • Social Issues In William Faulkner's The Sound And The Fury

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    Faulkner uses stream of consciousness to narrate the degradation and downfall of the Compson family. The Sound and the Fury is divided into four sections each told through a different viewpoint. The first chapter is narrated through the understanding of Benjy who has no sense of time. The next chapter is told through the thoughts of Quentin who in contrast to Benjy obsesses over time. Then the oldest son Jason who is only focused on making a profit.

    Read More

More about Themes In William Faulkner's Barn Burning

Open Document