Barn_Burning

What differentiates a normal short story from one that its readers just can’t put down' For some readers, it is a realistic and relatable character. For others, good short stories are the ones that instill a theme, an idea within them. I believe that Barn Burning by William Faulkner falls into this category. Sarty is the story’s main character. His personal predicament and resulting conscious difficult decision keep the story moving. He faces a moral dilemma, in which he must decide between abandoning his blood or fighting for what he believes is right. Sarty only knows one way of life, and that is one of paternal abuse and poverty. Initially, it is made clear that Sarty is different than his violent father. This is shown during the first encounter in the courtroom, when his father is blamed for burning down another man's barn. Sarty is called up by the Justice to speak reveal what he knows about his father’s involvement in the burning down of Mr. Harris' barn. Faulkner portrays Sarty in a way that the reader can truly understand how uncomfortable he is in admitting the truth, considering he knows that his father did actually commit the crime. Even though Sarty doesn't say anything in this scene, Faulkner succeeds in showing the reader the tension that Sarty experiences while he awaits Mr. Harris' response as to whether or not he wants to continue questioning him. Sarty wishes he could altogether avoid lying or dishonoring his father, "But he could hear, and during those subsequent long seconds while there was absolutely no sound in the crowded little room save that of quiet and intent breathing it was as if he had swung outward at the end of a grape vine, over a ravine, and at the top of the swing had been caught in a prolonged instant of mesmerized gravity, weightless in time." From here it is pretty apparent to the reader that Sarty is in a predicament. Because of who his dad is, Sarty cannot be honest without defying his own family. The story quickly moves along during a scene in which Sarty and his father are venturing to Major de Spain's house. Sarty describes Major de Spain’s home as "… big as a courthouse he thought quietly, with a surge of peace and joy whose reason he could not have thought into words, being too young for that: They are safe from him. People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are beyond his touch..." By comparing it to a courthouse, Sarty allows the home to symbolize the beautifulness of society. The reader is made to wonder how Sarty's father will react to Major de Spain's home; "...his father held and saw the stiff foot come squarely own in a pile of fresh droppings where a horse had stood in the drive and which his father could have avoided by a simple change of stride." Here, Faulkner makes the reader suspicious of what will happen next, while also making symbolic comparisons. As readers are informed, Sarty's dad very simply could have avoided the droppings with a "simple change of stride." This imagery shows what type of man Sarty's father really is. He is truly a inflexible, disrespectful, and polluted individual. Instad of easily changing his ways, but instead chooses to continue on with his unfavorable ways. The scene’s final occurence is the revealing of how Sarty's father and moral society come together. In the scene it is revealed that "...the boy watched him pivot on the good leg and saw the stiff foot drag around the arc of the turning, leaving a final long and fading smear." Faulkner's usage of imagery is what truly aids the reader to see and feel what Sarty does. We, the reader, are left in disbelief at what his father just done. It is now crystal clear to Sarty that his father really is not fit to be a part of society. Sarty was already thrust into a position requiring him to reevaluate his belief on the respect and commitment to his own family blood. He wonders how can he stand behind a man so cruel like his father. Soon following the incident, Sarty's wonders and uncertainty are made into an unfortunate reality when he learns that his father has set out to burn down Major de Spain's barn. Immediately, Sarty is faced with a difficult choice between turning his head away from his father and allowing him to commit this crime, or warning Major de Spain and in the process saving his barn and his father from even further tarnishing. Sarty decides that has seen enough, and has ultimately decided how he views his father and what he stands for. Sarty knows he can no longer stand behind his father, and rushes to Major de Spain's to warn him about impending damage. Faulkner writes "...knowing it was too late yet still running even after he heard the short and an instant later, two shots, pausing now without knowing he had ceased to run, crying, "Pap! Pap!"" This concludes Sarty's decision. His father presumably has died due to Sarty’s decision. His choice is forever lasting. At story’s end, he doesn't turn to go back home, instead going " … on down the hill, toward the dark woods within which the liquid silver voices of the birds called unceasing..." He realizes that things between himself and his family can never be the same. However, to Sarty, it was the right call. In the end, Sarty ultimately was forced to live with his choice to defend the morality of society over his own father.