At one point in \"Barn Burning, \" Sarty thinks that \"maybe\" his father \"coul

Question

At one point in "Barn Burning, " Sarty thinks that "maybe" his father "couldn't help but be" what he is (par. 40). What is Abner Snopes? What desires, motives, values, and views-especially of justice-seem to drive and explain him? What does the story imply about how and why he has become the man he is? What might be admirable, as well as abhorrent, about him? How does the narrative point of view shape your understanding of, and attitude toward, Abner? How is Surly characterized? How is this characterization affected by the multiple flashforwards in the story and by the way Sarty's thoughts are presented? Does Sum change over the course of the story? How and why does he change or not change? What do each of the minor characters contribute to the story, especially Sarty's mother, sisters, and older brother?

Explanation / Answer

1. Abner is a terrifying figure. He controls his family with physical and psychological violence, and makes them accomplices in his favorite pastime: burning barns. "Barn Burning" focuses on the impact Abner's behavior has on his ten-year-old son, Sarty. But Abner is a formidable character in his own right. Although Sarty isn't able to find a way to live with his dad, he has moments of empathy and admiration for the man that help transform Abner from a one-dimensional bad guy into a complex and mysterious character.

Abner was a mercenary during the Civil War. A mercenary fights in an army for money, not out of patriotic duty. Apparently, Abner also stole horses during the war to sell to the highest bidder. At some point he was shot by a member of the Confederate (Southern) army's police force, and has an injured leg as a result. We know that he hid in the woods for four years during the war. Since the war lasted from 1861 to 1865, we can assume that Abner spent most of the war living in the woods. That was thirty years ago. We don't know how old Abner was during the war, but we do know that for at least thirty years Abner has been living on the fringes of society, living by no law but his own.

2.

Sarty starts as a flat character and grows to be a round character. He is a young ten year old boy living with his family in the South after the Civil War. Though he has little to no book-knowledge that he shows in the story, he has the knowledge of right and wrong.In the beginning of this short story Sarty is put on the witness stand to testify against his father on charges of burning a barn. At this point in the story, you do not know if he is going to tell the truth about his father or protect him. Sarty is not given the chance to lie and keep his father from being convicted of the crime for which he is accused.

Ten-year-old Sarty is the extraordinary hero of "Barn Burning." Sarty's father forces him to help burn barns, and lie about it afterwards. Yet this boy has a distinct sense of justice. He might have developed this from spending so much time in courtrooms, and listening to the proceedings. When we first meet Sarty, we can assume that this wasn't the first time Abner was called to court, though we don't know if Sarty has testified before.

This sense of justice functions as a moral code that tells him: 1) barn burning isn't nice, and 2) it's wrong for his father to make him lie about it and participate in it. He knows that if he helps his father burn barns, or lies about it, he is also guilty. (His sense of guilt is compounded by the fact that he inherently knows that barn burning is inherently wrong.) We aren't talking about legally or religiously wrong, because Sarty doesn't necessarily see things in those terms. Sarty does seem, however, to have a strong sense of civic duty, or duty to his community.

For example, think of the scene where Abner tells Lennie to hold Sarty. He threatens to hit her if she doesn't let him go. We can assume Sarty knows that hitting his mother is wrong. But, in his mind, not doing everything he can to save the de Spain barn is even worse. Likewise, he would prefer not to have to betray his father and break his mother's heart, but he also knows he can make his own decisions. We also have to remember that Sarty is ten, and that he is in a position no child should have to be in. Faulkner has certainly loaded him down with complexity.

3. Lennie Snopes - Sartoris’s mother. Sad, emotional, and caring, Lennie futilely attempts to stem her husband’s destructive impulses. She is beaten down by the family’s endless cycle of flight and resettlement and the pall of criminality that has stained her clan. Nervous in the presence of her irascible, unpredictable husband, she is a slim source of comfort for Sartoris in the violence-tinged world of the Snopes family.

Colonel John Snopes - Sartoris’s older brother. Although his name is not given in the story, Faulkner’s other works of fiction feature the same character and identify him. A silent, brooding version of his father, John is slightly thicker, with muddy eyes and a habit of chewing tobacco.

Net and an Unnamed Sister - Sartoris’s twin sisters. In his brief description of the two women, Faulkner focuses on their physicality and corpulence. They are described as large, bovine, and lethargic, with flat loud voices. They are cheaply dressed in calico and ribbons.

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