Critical Viewing On “Barn Burning” Essay, Research Paper
William Faulkner’s use of a setting in a short story, such as “Barn Burning”, effected the entire outcome of the story from start to finish. In “Barn Burning”, a young boy must face his father and face the reality of a harsh world. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong and learn to grow up the right way in a racial environment. Faulkner’s setting is one of the most important literary elements that help the audience understand the story.
When an author puts a simple-minded group of people in a complex plot, one would get a confusing story line. William Faulkner does just this. He takes a young black boy and puts him in the real world of chaos and disorder. The world of the South, race is one of the most important factors in the way one would live then. “Sartoris Snopes’ struggle to free himself from his violent, driven father” (ASST, 7.) The only way he can retain his own dignity at the end of the day is to believe in his own courage and goodwill. Between this young boy, Sartoris, and his father, Abner Snopes, there is a naturalistic kind of loyalty that comes from a higher power. This loyalty is what saves Abner from the wrath of the white men, during the beginning of the story.
In the beginning of the story, Sartoris (Sarty) is faced with his first major conflict. He is in a court room/store as a witness to a barn burning. The judge can only pardon Abner because Sarty is just a boy and is not used as the essential witness, but the judge tells them they must leave the country for their own safety and the safety of others. Sarty thinks to himself all the mean while, how he must not talk to the white men. “Our enemy … ourn! mine and hisn both! He’s my father! (Faulkner, 377). In this, he sees all the white men in the courthouse as the enemy, even the judge. Here Sarty is thinking to himself how the Justice is the enemy because he is white. This is because he has grown up to think so. Slavery was an important part in the South. After they leave the country, Abner runs into trouble again and this time Sarty runs and warns a man named Major de Spain about the burning of his barn. Sarty is now changed forever, he has thought on his own. When he realizes this, he runs away to become his own man.
“Ab unjustly accuses Sarty of intending to betray him at the hearing, but he correctly recognizes that his son is moving out of childhood, developing a mind and will of his own and is no longer blindly loyal. In instructing the boy that everyone is the enemy and his loyalty belongs to his blood … Blood loyalty means total identification with Ab….” (Gorman, 163.)
Faulkner wrote stories based on reality. He did not necessarily focus on the common man, but more over on the poor man in a harsh environment, such as the racial South. When he warns de Spain, Sarty stays loyal to himself. He is becoming his own person, a person who can rely on what he believes and not have to worry about what others think, a self-reliant man. Another reason why Sarty became loyal to Major de Spain was personal reasons. Because he warns de Spain he has become disloyal to not only his father but also his own blood and heritage. In the South, blacks had to band together to fight off the white men and oppression. Faulkner uses this setting to support Abner’s acts of aggression.
After moving to out of the country, Abner is still abusive to Sarty and his family. This spurs on even more to Sarty as the need to find himself. Abner orders them around and only cares for himself. When Sarty betrays his father, he shows his true side of loyalty to “normal” ethics. Abner Snopes is full of hatred and he is always ready to defend himself even if no one has an argument against him. He is the pariah, which causes grief for his entire family. Sarty, like many fictional characters must face an enemy only he can overcome. That is himself. He must choose to either follow the law or to choose the same path as his father did, a life that only satisfied himself. Happiness was short-lived for Abner Snopes. The first time Sarty had to choose between the law and his father he choose his father. He did not know much, only that the white men were enemies and that he had to stick to his own blood. Therefore, with that, he took more and more abusive-ness from his father. As a young boy, Sarty could only relate to natural born instincts and to the teachings of his heritage. As he got older, he got smarter about his father and the confrontations he placed them in. When Abner goes to burn the barn, in the new country, this is the first time Sarty makes his own choice. This choice is a key step in Sarty’s becoming a man. He decides to go and warn Major de Spain against his father’s wishes. He has taken a major step towards man hood and towards the right path, the path traveled by most men. Sarty overcomes his fear of his opprobrious father to do the right thing, to warn de Spain and later decides to run away. In the South, families had a closely bonded relationship. They had to stick together and support each other in order to survive the malicious racial attacks on them. During those times, family value had a high value among men. When Sarty goes against his father to do the right thing he goes against everything he has been taught. He has defied his own blood and generations of “traditions.” This action can be a foreshadow of what the future holds for the youths of America, children betraying their own parents and running away, but running away because they did something good. Something Here, Faulkner is writing out a social protest. He wants the audience to know the troubles of the racial South. William Faulkner wrote to inform the audience of these crimes and to think of them as a sin, all the racial discrimination. Whether it is white discriminating against the blacks or vice-versa, he wanted the audience to take notice and do something about it.
In the distant past of America’s history, Faulkner also wrote stories based on personal feeling, another explanation for his social protest. His realistic point of view is told throughout the story. During the time when slavery was accepted blacks were called Negroes and “niggers”. Faulkner uses both words repeatedly throughout the story to show the ignorance of the times. There was no order, as figured by Faulkner, in American history. All throughout the story, there is no peace for the Snopes family. There were many lynching of black men for no other reason rather than their skin color. Social chaos was everywhere. Abner Snopes was the kind of person with a very large chip on his shoulder. Faulkner uses Abner Snopes to define “the nature of evil.” (Groman, 163.) Mr. Snopes brought trouble wherever he went. When he spoiled de Spain’s expensive carpet, he cared less for it and because he was to clean it, he decided to burn de Spain’s barn. Abner Snopes is really the moral antagonist in Sarty’s conflict. He is the thorn in the delicate rose that throws all balance off. “Just as Sarty and Abner struggle to control their own emotional responses and those of their enemies…” (ESS, 4.) That is what Abner cannot do. Because he cannot control the emotional responses of his “enemies”, he thinks the only way he can is to destroy something of theirs to attain their attention. Thus, he becomes the enemy against “normalcy.” In addition, when Abner had to face the courthouse and de Spain’s servant, he knew nothing more than what he was raised to do, and that was to either fight back or have a cold shoulder. Abner Snopes is not a dumb man, he does know that if he must burn someone’s barn, he has to do it and get away quickly. “Don’t you want me to help?” (Faulkner, 383.) Sarty asks his father that question when Ab is returning the cleaned carpet back to de Spain. When a young boy wants to help, one would normally let them with such a simple task. Abner is so set on revenge for this particular humiliation he does not reply and continues to walk on in silence. With this silence, he thinks everything through and plans things. Therefore, he becomes a dangerous enemy of society.
With this in mind, William Faulkner’s use of setting to deepen the plot and theme only confuses the audience, but lets them see the oppression the poor man faces and allows them to come to a conclusion. Faulkner also wrote according to personal feelings and past experiences growing up in the deep South. So many of his stories deal with racial discrimination or the oppression of a certain social class. “The story is deceptive in its apparent simplicity.” (Gorman, 163.) A simple character put into a complex plot.Bibliography
1. American Short Story Tradition, packet.
2. “Exploring Short Stories.” Pg. 4
3. Gorman, Thomas R. “Short Story Criticism” Pg. 163-165
4. Faulkner, William. “Barn Burning.” Pg. 377-389.