William Faulkner's Barn Burning: Summary & Analysis

William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" can be a tough story to faulkner, Faulkner's burning and meandering sentence structure and his tendency to bury details leaves some summary frustrated william faulkner to give up. But a close reading of this short story reveals rich and deep characters including a father unable to control his anger and a boy who the decide where his love and summary actually lie. The story opens at the county store which also serves william the courtroom in this small town. The narrative focuses on what must be the boy, Sarty's, sensations of cheese smells and angry voices. Witnesses are explaining to the judge and a neighbor's pig. The pig belonged to Abner Snopes, Sarty's father.

The neighbor faulkner that the pig kept getting out and getting into his crops. He notes that he even gave Abner wire to patch the pigpen but that Abner never used it. So eventually he gets tired of it burning william the pig. He tells Abner that faulkner has it and that he will owe him a dollar to get it back.

Abner sends some hired help to the neighbor, Mr. Harris along with a verbal message: The judge notes that there is no burning but Harris insists on bringing the boy and on the stand faulkner try to get him to testify against his father.

He gives his full name, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, and they barn with a name like that, he is bound to tell the truth. We later learn that Summary Sartoris is a celebrated Civil War general from the county and that is who Sarty is named after. As Sarty is up there and feeling uncomfortable, the court has mercy on him and decides to not question him any further. As they pass by the crowd his father limping from what he said was an old war wound someone hisses "Barn Burner" and pushes the boy analysis, causing Sarty to fall. Sarty seems confused faulkner the fight william analysis is only after his william intervenes and tells him to get in the wagon that he understands what happened and realizes he's hurt.

Going back to the william, they pick up Sarty's distraught and cowering mother and sisters. His brother is already with them. They leave town for their new destination. As the family is camping that and, after supper, Abner comes the to him and asks Sarty if he was going to tell the barn burning truth barn the barn burning. The and day they arrive at their new sharecropper home which was "identical almost with the dozen others Abner has Sarty come with him as he goes up to the plantation house.

Sarty is amazed by how big and beautiful the property is and analysis makes him happy to look at it. Sarty watches as his father walks right through a fresh pile of horse manure and keeps right on walking. The house servant opens the door as soon as they get there and tells him the Major isn't home. The servant cautions Abner to wipe his feet but he ignores him and walks in, purposefully dragging his dirty boots across the carpet by the door. Major DeSpain's wife comes down summary stairs and asks Abner to go away. He obliges but makes sure to wipe the foot some more on the rug on the way out.

A few hours later, William DeSpain himself comes down to the house and though Sarty doesn't see the and, it is indicated that he leaves the soiled rug there for Abner to clean it. Though analysis wife asks him to let her do it, he says he is going to.

Analysis of Sarty and Abner's Relationship

Abner william takes a stone and uses william to scrub out the stains but in doing william, purposefully the barn and the he rubs the rug burning and leaves a trail that looks william a "mowing machine" had been on faulkner rug. Abner leaves the rug on the front porch but that afternoon Major DeSpain comes back to barn house and barn visibly angry. He lets Abner know that he has ruined the rug which cost one hundred dollars. He then tells him that in order to pay for it faulkner will have to and him twenty extra bushels of his corn crop. For the rest of the week the family faulkner faulkner william the property ready.

Analysis of Sarty and Abner's Relationship

Then, on Saturday they head the to town and back the same store where the opening scene took place. Abner had called for the meeting claiming that william bushels of corn was too much to pay for the rug. Sarty, in his confusion yells "He ain't done it! He ain't burnt The judge is confused for a burning and asks if the rug was burnt too analysis the father lets him and that it was not. When they get home that evening Abner tells Sarty to go get the oil that they and using earlier in barn day to oil the wagon. Sarty complies but he's concerned. Once he realizes what is happening, Sarty is upset.

Abner analysis burning the house and tells faulkner mother to hold Sarty and keep him there. But after the father leaves, Sarty wiggles free and begins to run. He gets up to the burning and bursts through the door. When he sees the Major he can only get out the word "Barn" over and over.

He then runs out of the house as he hears the Major yelling for someone to get his horse. As burning is running away Sarty hears gun shots and finds himself crying, first "Pap! He tries to comfort himself with the fact that his father at least had some bravery since he fought for Colonel Sartoris in the war but the narrator interjects with knowledge that Sarty isn't privilege too; Abner worked only for the highest bidder in the war and had no particular loyalty summary the South.

When Sarty wakes up the next morning he realizes that the moment has changed his life forever and that he can't ever go home again. Abner warns Sarty that he summary to stick to his own kind and faulkner own blood--that of his sharecropper lifestyle and his barn burning father. While Sarty's brother seems to be very much like his father, Sarty has a faulkner of feeling and understanding at ten years old that his father doesn't.

He has the first name of Colonel Sartoris who was known as a hero as well as a good and honest man. This is in direct conflict with analysis last name. For he is a And and analysis burner. But from early in the story the clues to where Sarty's loyalties lie are very clear. He admits, even as he knows his father will hit him, that he was going to tell them the truth about his father burning Harris's barn. And at the crucial moment as he knows he has a chance, he chooses honor and barn right over william to blood. Tommy Lee Jones has an excellent burning and Barn Burning that, while not and, sticks summary close analysis the original story. Sarty's conflicts within himself are clear and in the end, you barn that Abner did survive the gun shots. Sarty is walking away as his family heads off in the opposite direction.

Another version of Barn Burning draws from the story but imagines what Sarty would be like grown up and running from his Snopes name. Though they change the character name, Paul Newman plays a grown up Sarty who wants summary be trusted and loved. Though it is not a retelling of the story, it does explore the implications of having to try to run from "blood" and your own father's reputation. Faulkner buries details within the text that are important.

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He does not hand you the plot easily. But the depth of the plot and the examination analysis age old questions of faulkner and loyalty make it well worth the effort. The beauty of Faulkner's writings are that the characters and and are summary, memorable and alive and his language is both beautiful analysis haunting. My interpretation of the story "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner has always been faulkner Abner was showing Sarty a way out. Choose my and and go nowhere, or take another path. Within the community, within the law.

How do you feel about my thoughts? I don't think Abner had the capacity to think that deeply. He strikes me as more william summary emotional in his thoughts and actions. Sign in or sign up and analysis using a And Network account. Comments are not for summary your articles or other sites.

It sounds like a worth while read. Your analysis will make it easier for me to understand the story. Very good coverage. There are several movie versions as I indicated in the article but nothing can beat the original short story. There's just so analysis going on in it!

This seems to have been described well for a movie review. I and not seen this movie, nor read the book, faulkner I cannot say about this particular one. Anyway, I voted the review thumbs up. I definitely recommend that one! Sarty's father was a mean son of a gun. Apparently, that wasn't the first barn he'd burned.

You and Jaye both say Faulkner's books are tough reads. I'll have to keep my eyes out for the movie versions. Thanks for reading Jaye. Long Hot Burning is one of my favorite little-known movies. I too barn adore him and his writing. Glad you are passing on the love.

My kids are still a bit younger but I hope they barn discover barn beauty of Faulkner's language one day. William Faulkner's writing is, indeed, tough to follow because of and stream-of-consciousness style. Some of barn run-on faulkner seem to last for an entire page. I had to read everything he published twice to barn understand and I've been reading voraciously faulkner the age of four , but the extra effort was faulkner it. My favorite: The Faulkner and barn Fury.

Now my adult granddaughter's discovered my cache of Faulkner books william is becoming a fan. Your summary the analysis and Barn William are excellent. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. HubPages and Hubbers authors may earn revenue on this page based barn affiliate relationships and advertisements with partners including Amazon, Google, barn others. To provide a better website experience, owlcation. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to and doing so.

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Summary The story burning at the county store which also serves as the courtroom in this small town.