Loyalty In Barn Burning

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” is based around the late 1890s, where the family unit is one of the most important aspects of the household. The father of the household is the “breadwinner” and essentially runs the home. All decisions are made by him and no one is to question his authority. “You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you” (184). Previous to making this statement, Sarty was about to betray his family and tell that indeed it was his father who set Mr. Harris barn on fire. This story setting is back in the late 1890s, so being a man is taking care and ensuring the well-being of the family. Webster defines loyalty as the “unswerving of allegiance” (“loyalty”). Sarty is disloyal to his family because he’s not looking out for their best interest. By telling the truth about what his father did would put a gigantic burden on the family. Sarty disloyalty to his family cause him to lose his father and ultimately be alone the rest of his life.

Although the girls didn’t want to clean the rug, they removed the father’s footprints from the rug and never disobeyed his command. The eldest son was a follower of Abner, in addition to the wife and aunt. The eldest son helped his father with the burnings of the barns and never questioned him. The aunt and Abner’s wife also did what was told of them and never spoke directly against his word. Faulkner provided these examples to show the importance of the Abner’s voice and authority in the family. Sarty couldn’t relate to loyalty. He often times pondered his father’s decisions in his head and questioned going against his