Barn Burning Symbolism

581 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in the literary criticism

“Barn Burning” by William Faulkner was written in the late 1800’s, and it is short story dealing with slavery. This was a time when colored people were mistreated and thought of as “slaves”. Faulkner chooses to use this kind of language to show to the reader that the characters were not educated at all. The simple title of “Barn Burning” fits the story exceptionally well, as the story is about the antagonist, Abner Snopes, burning a barn. In the late 1800’s people had simpler times, and Faulkner may have chosen a simple name as part of his symbolism. Abner’s son, Sarty, is the protagonist in the story, and he struggles with remaining loyal to his father or doing the right thing for the law. Abner and Sarty face many struggles in “Barn Burning” …show more content…

One internal conflict is immediately introduced at the beginning of the story when Abner is accused of burning Mr. Harris’s barn. Sarty knows that his father burned Mr Harris’ barn, but he also understands the importance of remaining loyal to his father. Shortly after this incident, Sarty is faced with another external struggle when he hears a voice shout, “Barn burner!” This creates madness within Sarty ,and he lashes out at them. Even though he knows deep in his heart that his father is guilty, he still feels the struggle of protecting his father.
Faulkner used a lot of symbolism in the story to draw the reader in. The fires symbolize control for Abner. Abner is not able to control the economic inequality, however he feels he can control the other townspeople by the use of fire. Another theme in the story is family. A family may or may not be a positive situation for some people. Sarty was born into poverty with a father who was controlling. As a young child he did not see this in his father until he started to mature and realized he was using him. The author is teaching a lesson in the story of what one should do if they are in this situation. Even though Sarty may not have had a functional maternal family, he could move toward a family that wasn’t even blood related. Many people today are not born into good families and they find mentors and other families that

Show More
Related

  • The Significance of Family Meals in Faulkner’s Barn Burning, Shall Not Perish, and Two Soldiers

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “Barn Burning”, Abner enters the house at dusk and “could smell the coffee from the room where they would presently eat the cold food remaining from the afternoon meal.” (14) A warm meal would indicate fulfillment and cohesiveness within the family. The inclusion of the detail that the food was cold represents an inversion of these associations. The cold meal symbolizes the family’s distaste with Abner’s actions. The memory of the dinner lingers with the family as they get ready for bed and appears linked with negative images of “Where they had been were no long, water-cloudy scoriations resembling the sporadic course of a lilliputian moving machine.” (15) In addition, the emphasis that this dinner was in fact a left-over meal symbolizes that the pattern of Abner’s destructive behavior and its effects on his family will not change.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Huckleberry Finn And Barn Burning

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, Sarty originally stands by his father and backs him up when he is put under pressure or when accused of committing whatever it could be. However, throughout the novel, Sarty begins to see his father’s true colors and the horrible man he actually is. When Sarty sees De Spain’s mansion, it gives him hope that having his father work in a place that stands for “peace and dignity” would terminate his father’s bad behavior for good. However, the moment when Abner said “get out of my way (N-word)”, he knew that there was no going back to the way things used to be (pg 10 and 11). This was his realization that his father was a villain. Sarty dreamed of having the life that De Spain did. A nice house, people who worked for him, wealth, and success. Realizing that if he stayed with his nomadic family who spent their time living in a wagon and covering for their father’s actions, he would be stuck forever unsuccessful and poor. What astonishes this choice is that even at ten years of age, Sarty is mature enough to realize that his father is a bad person and that he can have a better life where he can live his life the way he wants to and make his own decisions. Maybe Sarty thought that he could have a better life, away from the negative influence that Abner displayed. When he heard the gunshots, he knew that his father was dead and it gave him a legitimate reason to leave his family and start fresh, just like Huck Finn. Sarty does not look back because maybe there’s a side of him that is embarrassed to be Abner’s son and a desire to be free from being Abner’s son, although he praises him as “brave” and a man of “Colonel Satoris’ cavalry” (pg

    Read More

  • Barn Burning: Sarty's Transformation Into Adulthood

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abner, his father. We see Sarty as a puzzled youth who faces the questions of

    Read More

  • Good And Evil In Barn Burning By William Faulkner

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    The description of the father’s character and plot shows his evilness. Abner is described as having an “inscrutable face and gray eyes” which, Faulkner writes, “glinted coldly” (342). Describing the father’s voice, as “cold and harsh” and the fact Abner often wears a stiff black coat paints a picture of evil in the reader’s mind (340). Making the connection with the color black to represent evil, Faulkner often uses black when describing the father. For example, when Sarty states that he “could see his father against the stars, but without a face or depth, sharp, black, flat, and bloodless as though cut from tin in the iron folds of the frock coat, the voice harsh like tin and without heat like tin” (341). Thorough out the story, the father burns down barns of people that he assumes are his enemies. The father resents rich people, and he does not financially support his family adequately, placing the family in the low income class.

    Read More

  • Barn Burning

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barn Burning Throughout the story “Barn Burning”, author William Faulkner conveys the moral growth and development of a young boy, as he must make a critical decision between either choosing his family and their teachings or his own morals and values. The reader should realize that the story “Barn Burning” was written in the 1930’s, a time of economic, social, and cultural turmoil. Faulkner carries these themes of despair into the story of the Snopes family. Faulkner opens the story, “Barn Burning” in a southern courthouse room of the during the Civil War reconstruction era, also a time of social, cultural, and economic instability.

    Read More

  • The Meaning of Fire in Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradbury first depicted fire as a hurtful force through Montag, a fireman, who burn books. With the converted mentality of his culture, “it was [Montag’s] pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (3). Montag’s culture sees burning as an enjoyment; however, the fire portrayed here demonstrates the destruction of knowledge and personality. While Montag’s profession brings him joy he does not understand that burning is the most permanent form of destruction. He is oblivious to his governments’ strong desire to eliminate the ideas and knowledge that books hold. In this society, where ignorance is bliss and their phobia of unhappiness controls all aspects of life, people believe that their destructive fire “is bright and…clean”, as it is used as a means to keep themselves oblivious and happy (60). In addition, Bradbury establishes the difference in the symbolisms of fire by naming part one of his novel “The Hearth and the Salamander”. The hearth is the fireplace of the home and is the most positive image of fire. This fire contributes warmth and restores relationships between people. The salamander, the symbol of the firemen, and who personify fire’s destruction is contrasted with the hearth, which represents restoration.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Father And Son in William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning"

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Normally in life, you look up to your father to be the care taker and to encourage you to make your own decisions on what is right and what is wrong. You figure your father should have your best interest at heart and show compassion for you. In William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning," Abner is the opposite of the normal father figure you would see. Rather than encouraging his son, Sarty, to make his own decisions on what is right and what is wrong, Abner wants Sarty to lie to him to protect his freedom, so Abner won’t get caught burning barns. Abner forces fear into Sarty to make sure he will lie to him rather than tell the truth.

    Read More

  • William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Barn Burning, Sartys father enjoys setting fires to burn down others properties. Sarty faces the problem of loyalty and honesty. On one hand, he wants to be loyal to his father; on the other hand, he does not endorse his fathers behavior. His father teaches him: Youre getting to be a man. You got to learn to do it.

    Read More

  • Barn Burning - Charcter Analysis

    486 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sarty has moved twelve times in his ten years of age and although the story does not state clearly, that this is not the first time his father has set fire to a barn, but shows that the chances are, that he probably has done this in the past which has affected Sarty in how he feels about his father. Sarty’s other family members include the mother, aunt, an older brother, and two twin sisters who are minor contributing factors in this story. The family knows the father is responsible for the burning of the barns and they even unwillingly help him at his requests. This story describes the family somewhat concerned for the father, but they never challenge his decision to burn the barns even though it is wrong.

    Read More

  • Sarty's Point of View in Barn Burning by William Faulkner

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sarty spent his entire life hiding behind the unspoken rule that blood is thicker than water. But, in the face of having to decide whether he should continue to overlook Abner’s amoral behavior, he chooses not to. Even though he tries to understand Abner’s reasoning, in his heart he cannot condone it. In a situation where Sarty-the child would be frightened to stand up against his father, Sarty-the man is not. It is unfortunate that he had to lose a father in order to regain his sense of morality, but in light of the situation he was in, it can be agreed, that he is better off.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of Barn Burning

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    At first glance, the story “Barn burning” seems just to be about a tyrannical father and a son who is in the grips of that tyranny. I think Faulkner explores at least one important philosophical question in this story were he asks at what point should a person make a choice between what his parent(s) and / or family believes and his own values?

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Barn Burning By William Faulkner

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    The figure of fire in the story is used many times throughout the story. The emotion that fire gives in the text is anger. In the story, “Barns Burning” Abner, the father is powerless and out of control. Fire is the one thing in his life he can control. Abner is the boss. This seems like another way of saying that Abner does not hit out of anger, or strong, burning emotion. Rather, his hitting is as calculated as his fire burning and he does it for a reason, to make the person or animal he hits do what he wants. Ironically, fire and hitting, the things that give Abner control over his life, without those around him makes him powerless. The quote “And older still, he might have divined the true reason: that the element of fire spoke to some deep mainspring of his father 's being, as the element of steel or of powder spoke to other men, as the one weapon for the preservation of integrity, else breath were not worth the breathing, and hence to be regarded with respect and used with discretion (Faulkner 228)” explains

    Read More

  • William Faulkner’s Barn Burning: Abner Snopes Character Analysis

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during the Civil War. The main character, Abner Snopes, shares the ropes to make a living for his family. He despises wealthy people. Out of resentment for wealthy people, he burns their barns to get revenge.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Literary Elements in Barn Burning

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Understanding literary elements such as patterns, reader/writer relationships, and character choice are critical in appreciating William Faulkner's Barn Burning. Some literary elements are small and almost inconsequential while others are large and all-encompassing: the mother's broken clock, a small and seemingly insignificant object, is used so carefully, extracting the maximum effect; the subtle, but more frequent use of dialectal words which contain darker, secondary meanings; the way blood is used throughout the story in many different ways, including several direct references in the familial sense; how Faulkner chooses to write about poor, common people (in fact to the extreme) and how this relates to the opinions of Wordsworth and Aristotle; and finally, the relationship between the reader and writer, Faulkner's choice of narrator and point of view, and how this is works successfully.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Barn Burning by William Faulkner

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    The son, Colonel Sartoris, known as Sarty, had to deal with constant rejection from his father, Abner. The story starts with Sarty feeling the anxiety of whether he should tell the judge the truth or lie for his farther. He is in an emotional dilemma on what to do. Sarty knew if he told the truth, that his father might have to go to jail. As Sarty was called by the judge to come forward, he said to himself, "He aims for me to lie, he thought, again with that frantic grief and despair. And I will have to do it." In despair, "Enemy! Enemy! he thought; for a moment he could not even see, could not see the judges face was Murphy 2 friendly nor discern that his voice was troubled" (398)

    Read More

More about Barn Burning Symbolism

Open Document