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Barn Burning: Abner Snopes Character Analysis William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people
Barn Burning In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", a 10-year old boy named Colonel Sartoris is forced to make moral decisions with possible consequences. He wants
barn burning In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", a 10-year old boy named Colonel Sartoris is forced to make moral decisions with possible consequences. He wants
Barn Burning A father is a figure commonly known for his compassion and general desire for the best in his family's interest. However, this is not the case in "Barn
Barn Burning "One believes family ties constitute a moral obligation on the individual, yet in turn, fail to recognize the forthcoming that there is higher morality
Submitted by Spiv0219 on November 17, 2005
Category: English
Words: 1818 | Pages: 8
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"One believes family ties constitute a moral obligation on the individual, yet in turn, fail to recognize the forthcoming that there is higher morality which might require the individual to act upon family ties."
-Author Unknown
At first glance, William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" appears simply to be about a tyrannical father and his protagonist son who is held within the grips of that tyranny. Faulkner explores the philosophical debate in this story were he asks at what point should a person make a choice between what his family believes and his own values. "I reckon any boy named for Colonel Sartoris in this country can't help but tell the truth, can they?" (Faulkner, 483) This is the first interaction of the moral dilemma that Faulkner is trying to portray in this story. Colonel Sartoris (Sarty), is faced with this decision of either going along with the views and actions of his morally challenged father, or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away, leaving his family, and his pain behind. However, Faulkner also holds the tyranny of the father to the possibility of being an individual mind, which is imaged and created to represent everything morally wrong and evil, yet still be a hero in truth.
A young boy, at mind and soul, Sarty displays mixed feelings of love and hatred for his father, Abner Snopes. Abner is depicted as the seamless bad guy. Faulkner provides a clear picture of him, starting with his last name itself, an unpleasant sound. A silent and sullen man, he walks with a limp that he received during the civil war, while stealing horse from both sides.
There was something about his wolf-like independence and even courage which impressed strangers, as if they got a feeling that his ferocious conviction in the rightness of his own actions would be of advantage to all whose interest lies with his. (Faulkner, 485)
Abner is a brutal and frightening man who instills fear into whom...
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