Thesis For Barn Burning

Sheetz 1
Sarah Sheetz
Ms. Rosenberger
English 4
October 17, 2016
Faulkner’s Self Help Book In “Barn Burning,” Faulkner illustrates a boy’s coming to age story, including his struggle in choosing whether to stand by in the midst of his father’s destructive cycle of spiteful burning or stand up for his own belief in civic duty. While most readers do not relate to having a father that habitually burns others’ belongings in a strange power scheme, readers relate to the struggle between blood ties and their own values. Taking the theme even broader, readers relate to any struggle with making a decision. Through imagery, reoccurring motifs, and diction, Faulkner creates an intense pressure which enhances readers understanding of Sarty, his struggle,

For example, Sarty felt the “light weight of his few years, just heavy enough to prevent his soaring free of the world as it seemed to be ordered but not heavy enough to keep him footed solid in it, to resist it and try to change the course of its events” (501). Weight connects to age literally as a child gains weight as they age. Gravity has an increasing effect with increasing weight which allows birds to fly while humans fall. The connection between Sarty’s age and this new tension is evident. Faulkner refers to Sarty as “little” (501), and as having the “handicap of being young” (500). This contrasts with Sarty being given more responsibility since he is getting older. Sarty riding the donkey carrying the destroyed rug is one example (505). He transitions into having a more direct involvement in his father’s actions because of these new responsibilities. Sarty’s internal feelings against his father’s actions surface for this reason. From this, Faulkner gives readers an understanding of Sarty’s conflict and then he must finish resolving the

In the beginning, the court put Sarty on the stand speak against his father.“[C]aught in a prolonged instant of mesmerized gravity, weightless in time” (500), Sarty does not know what to do with the newly awakened rebellious itch. Although, he makes an instant decision and acts from there. Faulkner uses action verbs, such as “springing…running…scrabbling” (510). These create chronological motion in the ending, moving away from the interjections of the past and futures interlaced throughout the