Barn Burning Sarty Changes

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Through the heat of the fire the young boy has been changed forever. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”, Abner, Sarty’s father, has a tendency of burning buildings which causes Sarty to change his way of life. Colonel Sartoris Snopes experiences many changes in his life starting as an obedient child to a confused boy and ending as an independent man. Sarty has always been loyal to his father; in fact, he even claimed his father’s enemies. Sarty sat in the courtroom with a little fear but mostly he felt despair and grief. Sarty thinks to himself, “the old fierce pull of blood” (162). He says that feeling that he must be loyal. Sarty was in the courtroom where he could not see his father or his father’s enemy, but he could hear them speaking. …show more content…

“He ain’t done it! He ain’t burnt…” claimed Sarty (175). No matter what Abner had done or has a reputation for doing Sarty will defend his …show more content…

Abner just stepped in fresh horse dropping and was walking towards Major de Spain’s house. Colonel Sartoris Snopes thought to himself, “Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he couldn’t help but be.” (169). Right then Sarty is secretly hoping his father will change. Sarty’s Father has completely destroyed the expensive rug of the major’s and the major has requested 20 bushels from Abner. Sarty thinks about the harsh punishment that has father has to endure while hoping that the whole situation will be over with soon: “Maybe this is the end of it. Maybe even that twenty bushels that seems hard to have to pay for just a rug will be cheap price for him to stop forever and always from being what he used to be,” (174). Abner started preparing to burn something down. In the story Faulkner writes, “’Go to the barn and get that can of oil we were oiling the wagon with,’ he said. The boy did not move,” (178). In other words, Sarty hesitates to do exactly what his father says. He was running out of the house towards the stable like his father had told him to do. “I could keep on. I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again. Only I can’t,” Sarty thought

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