“Barn Burning”: Abner Snopes “Barn burning” by William Faulkner is a southern tale that took place shortly after the Civil War. In this tale Abner Snopes is a local southern sharecropper, considered a mercenary by most. In the opening scene, Abner’s ten year old son Colonel Satoris “Sarty” is called to testify in court against his father who is accused of burning down his landlord Harris’s barn. Faulkner makes the reader aware of the sadistic relationship between Abner and Sarty when his father believes that Sarty was going to tell the justice the truth. After being hit by his own father, Sarty thinks to him self: “If I had said they wanted only the truth, justice, he would have hit me again.” (189).
Mine and hisn both! He’s my father!” After Sarty thinks this he is called to testify against his dad. However, he does not want to lie, he knows what his father did was wrong and doesn’t want him to be able to do it again. The climax of Barn Burning is the point that Sarty makes his decision to change his life. Abner is going to burn down Major DeSpain’s barn, and Sarty breaks free of his mother’s grasp and runs to
In the story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, Sarty is at war with himself over whether or not he should turn his vengeful father in. In the beginning of the story, Sarty’s father, Abner, is on trial for burning Mr. Harris’ barn. Sarty only wants to tell the truth, but is frozen in fear. Abner is found not guilty, but he and his family are forced out of town anyway. His father’s turbulent life-style causes significant stress for Sarty, and, in the end, he makes the painful decision to give his father up and run away.
A Study of a Father and Son: Abner and Sarty In “Barn Burning”, William Faulkner writes of a young boy, Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes, his domineering father, and abused family living in the Deep South Mississippi thirty years after the Civil War. Sarty is living in moral turmoil, torn between loyalty to his violently explosive father, and doing what is right by the law. His father, Abner Snopes, is sometimes compared to the Devil because of his evil deeds and abusive, mentally-ill behaviors. His dysfunctional relationship with Sarty severely impedes his son’s development into a stable young adult. A closer look Abner’s relationship with Sarty and his family sheds more light on the dark, selfish Abner, his maniacal behavior, and his domineering personality which cause Sarty to turn his back on blood and kin forever.
The story is about a boy whose only tie to his father was taken away from him towards the end of the story because of the effects of modernization. Previous family traditions are lost because of the technology shifts, generation gap and communication breakdown. The technology shift in this story is represented by the camera crew and the technicians who only wanted to witness the fathers’ gift for their movie. The camera crew, technicians and farmer did not have any personal ties to this gift. The gift that the father passed on to his son, the narrator, was meant to be a bond shared between only father and son.
Also when Buddy, Zirko and Zirko’s crew catch the boy who punched Buddy, he begs Zirko: “Please don’t hurt him”. This shows that Buddy cannot express his feelings at the right time and holds everything inside him until the last moment. Throughout the story Buddy is changed and by the end losses his innocence. When standing in front of Chuckie’s house, Zirko was in the process of destroying the snowman; Buddy was trying to stop him but in the end gave him the crowbar to completely take out the dog shrine. “ Jesus, Andy.
Mr. Shimerda moved his whole family to Black Hawk in order to give his eldest son Ambrosch, a better life. As all the Shimerda’s started on the road towards their American dreams, Mr. Shimerda’s dream is unsuccessful. As Mr. Shimerda is unable to provide the necessities for his family, he began to borrow many things from Jim’s family. Mr. Shimerda’s depression caused by his lack of ability to provide for his family, foreshadows his ultimate suicide. The American dream of Mr. Shimerda was lost due to his loss of faith in himself.
Billy had learned a lot about nature and life and the Indian could see it. He told him not to keep it to himself and share it with others. Billy thought he was going to arrive home and find everything the way he had left it, but the house was empty and there was no trace of his parents or his brother, Boyd. After finding out his parents had been murdered by two Indians he went for his brother and wanted to return to Mexico to find his fathers horses and seek revenge on the Indians who had killed his parents. Billy wants to find peace within him and the only way he can have it is to have revenge on the Indians who killed his parents.
Willy has no reminiscence of his own father; he lost his father during the early years of his childhood. Willy overwhelms his sons with love and worries about their success in life, since Willy himself was deprived of affection as a child. As a result of not having a true father figure in his childhood, Willy struggled with paternity because
When Henry gets caught in the middle of the charging soldiers, he realizes there is no where to run even if he wanted to. Then Henry passes a dead soldier, which really affects him. Henry’s regiment successfully fends off the first wave of Confederates. But when the second wave comes right after that, many soldiers panic and flee, including Henry. When he meets up with some soldiers and finds out that the Union won the battle, he regrets running.