William Faulkner’s Barn Burning: Themes And Symbolism

William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” delves into the profound moral quandaries faced by a young boy, Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty), as he navigates a world defined by his father’s violent resentments and a fractured sense of justice. This analysis provides a structured examination of the story’s core themes and potent symbolism, offering readers a precise framework for understanding its enduring power. The narrative is particularly relevant for those seeking to dissect the complexities of loyalty, conscience, and the societal forces that shape individual choices.

Barn Burning by William Faulkner: Who This Is For

• Readers interested in American Modernist literature, particularly those examining Faulkner’s nuanced portrayal of the American South and its social hierarchies.
• Individuals seeking to understand the psychological impact of moral compromise and the difficult decisions individuals face when familial duty clashes with personal ethics.

What to Check First

• Narrative Focus: The story is predominantly filtered through the consciousness of young Sarty Snopes. His perspective, limited by his age but growing in moral awareness, is crucial for interpreting events.
• Socio-Economic Landscape: The setting is a rural, post-Reconstruction South where class, land ownership, and social standing are rigidly defined. The Snopes family’s marginal status fuels Abner’s resentment.
• The Nature of Justice: Faulkner deliberately blurs the lines between legal justice, communal retribution, and personal vengeance. The story questions the efficacy and fairness of justice as it is administered or perceived.
• Symbolism of Fire: Fire is a recurring and potent motif, representing not only destruction and primal rage but also a force that can cleanse or irrevocably alter circumstances.

Step-by-Step Plan: Analyzing Barn Burning by William Faulkner

1. Identify the Central Moral Conflict: Recognize the core tension between Sarty’s ingrained loyalty to his father and his burgeoning moral revulsion.

• Action: Document Sarty’s internal reactions to his father’s destructive acts, particularly the act of burning barns.
• What to look for: Note Sarty’s fear, shame, and the growing dissonance between his father’s actions and his own developing sense of right and wrong.
• Mistake: Assuming Sarty’s initial compliance signifies his agreement with his father; his actions are primarily driven by fear and a deeply ingrained sense of familial obligation.

2. Examine the Symbolism of Fire: Understand fire as a multifaceted symbol of destruction, Abner’s primal rage, and his desperate response to perceived injustices.

• Action: Track all descriptions and instances of fire, smoke, and burning throughout the narrative.
• What to look for: The destructive power of the barn burnings and how fire is employed by Abner as a tool of intimidation and revenge.
• Mistake: Limiting the interpretation of fire to mere destruction, without considering its potential as a symbol of untamed power or a desperate, albeit destructive, catalyst for change.

3. Analyze Abner Snopes’s Character and Motivation: Comprehend the patriarchal authority Abner wields and the absolute loyalty he demands from his family.

• Action: Detail Abner’s specific actions and the implied or stated rationale behind his destructive behavior.
• What to look for: The fear he instills in his children and his systematic use of arson to intimidate and exact revenge against those who slight him.
• Mistake: Viewing Abner as a simplistic villain; his actions are deeply rooted in a warped sense of honor, profound resentment, and a history of being marginalized.

4. Evaluate the Portrayal of Justice and Law: Assess how the legal system and the community’s sense of justice operate within the story’s context.

• Action: Observe Sarty’s interactions with figures of authority and the community’s reactions to the barn burnings.
• What to look for: The perceived ineffectiveness of formal legal channels in addressing Abner’s transgressions and the community’s reliance on informal, often punitive, methods of enforcement.
• Mistake: Assuming the legal framework presented is a complete or fair representation of justice; Faulkner highlights its limitations and susceptibility to bias.

5. Trace Sartoris’s Moral Evolution: Follow Sarty’s psychological journey from ingrained obedience to active defiance.

• Action: Identify the specific events and interactions that precipitate Sarty’s decision to betray his father.
• What to look for: The escalating nature of Abner’s crimes and Sarty’s growing internal struggle with the consequences of his father’s actions.
• Mistake: Underestimating the profound psychological cost of Sarty’s final act; it severs his familial ties and leads to profound isolation.

Collected Stories

• Audible Audiobook
• William Faulkner (Author) - Various (Narrator)
• English (Publication Language)
• 12/04/2007 (Publication Date) - Random House Audio (Publisher)

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6. Interpret the Ending’s Ambiguity: Reflect on the implications of Sarty’s choice and his subsequent departure from his family.

• Action: Analyze Sarty’s final moments in the story, including his actions and any expressed thoughts or feelings.
• What to look for: The sense of isolation and the uncertain future he faces, having broken from his family’s destructive path.
• Mistake: Expecting a clear resolution or a conventionally happy ending for Sarty; his future is left open-ended, emphasizing the difficult road ahead.

Common Myths About Barn Burning

• Myth: Sartoris Snopes is inherently rebellious and disloyal from the start.
• Why it matters: This myth misrepresents the core of Sarty’s struggle, which is his agonizing internal conflict between learned obedience and dawning moral awareness.
• Correction: Sarty’s initial actions are driven by fear and a deeply ingrained sense of familial duty. His rebellion is a gradual awakening, a painful process of recognizing his father’s actions as morally reprehensible, not a pre-existing defiance.

• Myth: Abner Snopes is simply a criminal driven by greed.
• Why it matters: This simplifies Abner’s complex motivations and overlooks the socio-historical context that fuels his rage and sense of injustice.
• Correction: Abner’s actions stem from a deep-seated resentment born from his marginalized social and economic status. He perceives the established order as inherently biased against him, and burning barns is his distorted method of asserting power and seeking retribution.

• Myth: The story offers a clear-cut definition of justice.
• Why it matters: Faulkner deliberately complicates the concept of justice, making it subjective and often indistinguishable from vengeance or personal bias.
• Correction: The story presents multiple, often conflicting, frameworks of justice: legal, familial, and personal. It highlights the failure of formal systems to address deep-seated resentments and the subjective nature of what individuals perceive as fair or deserved.

Expert Tips for Analyzing Barn Burning

• Focus on Sensory Immediacy: Faulkner’s prose is renowned for its visceral descriptions that immerse the reader in the story’s atmosphere and characters’ experiences.
• Actionable Step: Actively identify and analyze sensory details—the smell of dust, the feel of heat, the sight of smoke, the texture of clothing—to understand the characters’ emotional states and the story’s underlying tensions.
• Common Mistake to Avoid: Skimming descriptive passages, thereby missing subtle cues about character psychology, emotional states, and thematic undertones that are crucial to a nuanced interpretation.

• Map Sartoris’s Moral Trajectory: Sartoris’s internal conflict is the narrative’s driving force. Charting his evolving moral perspective is key to understanding the story’s resolution and its commentary on individual conscience.
• Actionable Step: Create a timeline of Sartoris’s key decisions and emotional responses, noting the external events that influence his developing conscience and his eventual choice to betray his father.
• Common Mistake to Avoid: Attributing fully formed adult moral reasoning to Sartoris from the story’s outset; his moral awakening is a gradual, painful process shaped by repeated exposure to his father’s transgressions.

• Contextualize Abner’s Rage: Abner Snopes is a product of his environment. Understanding the historical and social forces at play is essential for interpreting his motivations.
• Actionable Step: Research the social and economic conditions of the post-Reconstruction South, including issues of class, land ownership, and the lingering resentments from the Civil War, to understand the roots of Abner’s worldview.
• Common Mistake to Avoid: Judging Abner solely by contemporary moral standards without considering the historical context and social structures that shaped his perception of injustice and his aggressive responses.

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Comparative Analysis: Barn Burning

Decision Rules for Interpretation

• If your primary goal is to understand individual moral agency against societal pressures, focus on Sartoris’