Barn Burning By William Faulkner - 1357 Words

William Faulkner’s O. Henry Award winning short story, â€Å"Barn Burning† was written in 1938 and published by Harper’s in 1939 (â€Å"William,† par. 12). In many ways the story is a product of â€Å"both a turbulent time in America’s history and Faulkner’s personal history† (Parker 101). America was emerging from the Great Depression just in time to see World War II looming on the horizon while Faulkner was struggling with â€Å"finances, a drinking problem, and a new mistress† (Parker 102). In â€Å"Barn Burning† Faulkner makes extensive use of his own life experiences and symbolism, elements that characterize many of his other stories. However, in â€Å"Barn Burning† there is a hard edge to the story theme that may match the hardness of the times it was†¦show more content†¦5). The exact setting for â€Å"Barn Burning† is not identified in the story, but may be a town called New Albany. Fau lkner lived in a number of larger Mississippi cities, but New Albany was the small town that he was born in. The action of â€Å"Barn Burning† centers around â€Å"the sharecropper’s cabin, the planter’s mansion, and the town’s general store† (Padgett, par. 2). Faulkner would have been familiar with all of these from his small town upbringing. Symbolism is also another element of fiction that Faulkner employs. The planter’s mansion is a central symbol in this story. Major De Spain’s mansion is primarily a symbol of security here. When Sarty, Abner Snopes’ son, sees it for the first time he is overcome with a feeling of peace. Never before has he seen anything that is so big and powerful that it is beyond the ability of his father to destroy. â€Å"He saw the house for the first time and at that instant he forgot his father and the terror and despair both, and even when he remembered his father again (who had not stopped ) the terror and despair did not return† (Faulkner 149). To Sarty â€Å"the grand house represents peace and safety† (Brucker, par. 5). He thinks, â€Å"They are safe from him. People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are beyond his touch† (Faulkner 149). Abner Snopes himself functions as a thinly disguisedShow MoreRelatedBarn Burning By William Faulkner935 Words   |  4 Pages William Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning,† is about a southern white family that resides in a rural county in Mississippi. The low-income family members are the mother Lennie Snopes, the older brother, two sisters, and an aunt. The story’s main characters are, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, a 10- year-old boy, the father Abner Snopes, the property owner Abner’s boss Major de Spain, and his wife, Mrs. Lula de Spain. Abner Snopes characterized as the antagonist, and Faulkner describes him as an evil, vengeful manRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1827 Words   |  8 PagesIn William Faulkner s story, Barn Burning,† we have a story that depicts a conflict between father and son, each of whom embrace different values. Interwoven into the story is class conflict between wealthy white landowners, tenant farming whites, and sharecropping African Americans. At the same time, you have another conflict between the three this dealing with race. The story also add resses the evils of slavery, tenant, and sharecropping and the vast social economic fallout that is left in theRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1193 Words   |  5 PagesIn the short fiction â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner we experience the conflict between Sarty and his father Abner Snopes. â€Å"You’re getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you.† (Faulkner, p.199). Sarty has an internal conflict choosing right over wrong resulting in being unfaithful to his Father. Author William Faulkner served in the air force and was a clerk at a bookstore before he started writing whichRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner1373 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s short story â€Å"Barn Burning† is an epic exhibition of the author’s style. In the story, Faulkner shows us the story of Colonel Sartoris Snopes regarding his want for good and his loyalty to his family. Throughout the story, Sarty is put in a position of having to struggle between his integrity and his want to defend his father and family. In â€Å"Barn Burning,† a struggle is displayed by Sarty Snopes between his want to do right and his want to honor his father. The reader gets theRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner Essay1978 Words   |  8 PagesBarn Burning The short story â€Å"Barn Burning† by William Faulkner is the author, published on the date of 1939. Faulkner was born in New Albany, MS on September 25, 1897. William Faulkner was married in 1929 till 1962 to a woman named Estelle Oldham. He died July 6, 1962 in Byhalia, MS. William Faulkner was an American writer and a Noble Prize Laureate from Oxford Mississippi. Mark Twain, James Joyce, William Shakespeare, and many more influenced William. In this short story, Faulkner used aRead MoreBarn Burning By William Faulkner910 Words   |  4 Pagesthe short story Barn Burning by William Faulkner. Sarty is a ten-year-old boy who lives in the south of The United States in the 1890’s. Sarty is the only round character in the story. His father, Abner, expects Sarty to help him burn other people’s barns and lie to the Justice of the Peace. Surprisingly, Sarty has a sense of morality and justice, even though he has been raised by a terrible man. He may have gotten this sense of justice from being in courtrooms so often, or Faulkner is suggesting everyoneRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner1028 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Faulkner is a writer from Mississippi. Faulkner is a very famous writer with most of his most famous works being short stories. Two of his most popular short stories are â€Å"A rose for Emily† along with â€Å"Barn Burning†. Faulkner has many other popular works, but â€Å"Barn Burning† was one of his well-known stories because of the many different of elements of literature in which Faulkner chose to include. Faulkner was known as a writer who could properly convey many different elements of literatureRead MoreBarn Burning by William Faulkner894 Words   |  4 PagesIn the tale Barn Burning, the author William Faulkner formally known for his short stories with a constant theme of Southern Renaissance, racism and modernism uses these themes as a constant reference throughout the story. Faulkner focuses in depth on the antagonist, Abner Snopes and his actions and how they impact other characters throughout the story. I believe Abner was continuously portrayed as a negative character throughout the short story by Abner’s aggressiveness towards everyone he comesRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s Barn Burning999 Words   |  4 Pages Receiving both the Pultizer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature, William Faulkner was an extensively recognized writer in the 20th century. Since the South was his home, Faulkner’s work was known to consist of southern culture and history (MINIBIOGRAPHY). One of his short stories, â€Å"Barn Burning,† published in 1939, followed this southern-style trend. The protagonist is faced with the challenges of loyalty to family and loyalty to the law. This internal battle of right versus wrong is prevalentRead MoreWilliam Faulkner And Barn Burning Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pagesliterature is that the rationalist project fails to produ ce answers to the deepest human questions, is doomed to failure, and that we are on our own for seeking answers to questions about human meaning. (Mr. John Mays) Sarty Snopes in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning, explores these questions of human meaning, which ultimately classifies this modernistic short story. The dichotomy and differences between Sarty and Abner Snopes creates an undeniable tension within the character of Sarty, while he battles