The Theme Of Conflict In Barn Burning By John Faulkner

Faulkner introduces us a dramatic and complex short story called Barn Burning, where the conflict is presented as a child trying to make a decision between following his father along with a path of criminal activity or weather fortunate a new path for himself. The story is narrated in 3rd person omniscient from the perspective of the protagonist of the story, a boy called Coronel Sartoris Snopes and his father, who can be considered as an antagonist, Abner Snopes, a veteran of the war. The mother of Sartoris, his aunt, and his two sisters, act as secondary characters because they are speechless and without space for a opinion during the story. Sartoris’s older brother plays a really important role in the story since he is the one who helps†¦show more content†¦They are corn farmers now and Abner wants to talk to the owner of the farm. Abner goes with Sartoris to the Spain’s house, but before going inside, Abner intentionally steps in horse poop and tracks it al l over an expensive white rug. This action causes Abner to get into trouble again. Spain asks the Snopes family to clean the rug; they place it in front of a fire to dry damaging it greatly. Hence, Spain requires Abner to pay him with corn, which leads to another trial set against Abner, where the judge acts in favor of Spain. When I was reading this part of the story, I thought that Abner was unfortunate because nothing was going well for him; however, I rethought the situation again and I realize the suffering he has exposed to his family such as moving around and changing their life all the time. I think that this man likes to be involved in trouble and more than that, he is constantly looking for reasons to burn and cause damage to others. After the trial, Abner decides that he had no intention of paying; instead, he seeks revenge and plans on burning down Major de Spain’s barn. Sartoris tries to warn Spain of the act that his father is about to make. However, it is too late and in doing so, Sartoris hears multiple gunshots and sees the glow of the barn on fire. The end is moving, because Sartoris faces a difficult situation in which he has to choose between doingShow MoreRelatedThe Yellow Wall Paper And Barn Burning Essay1509 Words   |  7 Pagesnot necessarily seen in today’s society, it is not rare to find this theme present in a large number of works studied in American Literature. Two authors that illustrate this pervasive theme in their short stories are Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Faulkner. Despite the fact that these short stories were written almost fifty years apart, the protagonists in both Gilman’s â€Å" The Yellow Wall-paper† and Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† live in a society where they are severely conflicted because of theirRead MoreAnalysis of Barn Burning Essay580 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam Faulkners story Barn Burning occurs in the fictive Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. It is a story set in the 1930s, a decade of the Great Depression when social and economic problems existed. Barn Burning is a story about social inequality, in particular with the rich land owning family de Spain in contrast to the poor tenant farming ways of the Sartoris family. Abner is the father in the family. He is a cold deviant man. His family is constantly moving around because of theRead MoreLiterary Analysis of â€Å"Barn Burning†2800 Words   |  12 PagesA Literary Analysis of â€Å"Barn Burning† In the beginning, â€Å"Barn Burning† appears to be a story about an oppressive father and his family, who seems to be caught up in his oppression. As you read further in to the story you find that the story is focused on a young son of a poor sharecropper, who has to struggle with his father’s arsonist tendencies which are destroying his families’ reputation and life style, while coming to terms with his own morality. The young son, whose name is Colonel Sartoris