William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”

authority as enemies, he thinks " enemy, enemy " (par.10) !

Sarty is a character who displays many interesting traits. He displays loyalty

towards his father and is very proud of him. He admires him for having strong

beliefs and for being a hard worker. He believes his father is always right and respects

him. Sarty feels proud to be his son and will help defend him at any cost. He is even

willing to put his own values of honesty on the line to help his father. At this point

Sarty's sense of right and wrong have been biased under the hardships of his father.

As the story continues, Abner is put on trial for burning the barns. At this point,

Sarty is faced with his first major conflict. He is put on the stand to testify against his

father. Sarty is placed in a difficult position and he has to choose between the law and

his own father. He did not know what to do, but only to think about the importance of

family and help his father. In his mind he kept thinking what his father had taught him

"our enemy...burn! Mine and his both! He's my father" ( par.1 )! Because of his

admiration of his father, Sarty was prepared to defend him, thinking : " he aims for me to

lie, and I will have to do it" ( par. 5). Although he has such a great liking for his father, he

begins to question his thoughtless actions.

After Sarty's testimony, the judge turns to Abner and eliminates Sarty's

testimony, saying that he is too young to be a key witness. After being let go, the judge

sentenced Abner and his family to be banished and to leave the country.

When arriving to their new home, Sarty and his father go to De Spains house, the

owner of the land Abner will be working on. At this point Sarty is very much in awe of

the house. He seems to be very satisfied about the new living situation and hopes that his

father feels the same way. He longs for his father to change his ways and stop the barn

burning. Sarty thinks " maybe he'll feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from

what maybe he couldn't help but be" (par. 40).

Sarty was in a difficult position, choosing between his father and the law. Since

his father taught him his beliefs, it was very difficult for Sarty to set his own. Living by

the standards that his father had set for him, Sarty feels that he cannot let his father

down. His feelings of guilt about lying for his father, and his family being given a

second chance, has given Sarty a hopeful outlook. He realizes now that what his father

has done in the past was wrong and being banished from his country was a reason for

worry. They were given a second chance at a new life and this gave Sarty a new start on

establishing his own beliefs although he felt that his father will most likely never change.

When Abner took Sarty to De Spain's house, he purposely steps into horse

manure and rubs it into a very expensive rug. He does this for no reason other than that

De Spain is a wealthy man who in a way owns Abner and his family. He is told to clean it

and ruins it more, then again goes to court where he is ordered to pay ten bushels of

corn. Now that Abner feels De Spain has wronged him he feels he must get revenge.

Sarty then is sent to by his father to get the oil, he now is thinking " I could keep on.... I

could run on and never look back, never to see his face again. Only I can't . I can't"

(par.88). He realizes now that his father is not doing what he usually does when he is

about to burn a barn , he does not send a slave to send a warning. At this point, conflict

arises. Sarty hoped that his father would stop this evil disregard of the law and

destruction of other peoples property. He now realizes that his father is never going to

change.

At this point of the story, Sarty makes his own decision . He overcomes the fear

of his father and does the right thing. When doing this, he goes against everything that he

has ever been taught. Sarty goes and warns De Spain about what is about to happen and

continues running. He runs and doesn't look back, realizing that he can't go back. At this

point of the story, the blood ties between father and son have been broken. Sarty's

decision proves that he has grown up and realized that what his father does is wrong and

therefore he wants no part of it.