Categories
College Essay Examples

THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF “BARN BURNING”

Sample by My Essay Writer

THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF “BARN BURNING”

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” is a short story which presents the difficulties of the impoverished Snopes family. The primary difficulty that is presented throughout the story is that Sarty Snopes’ father, Abner, has a habit of burning the barns of people who he feels have wronged him. The actions of burning barns and forcing family members to hide the truth creates several conflicts throughout the short story. More importantly, these conflicts also generate several themes that are prevalent throughout the work. Examining the text from a thematic standpoint ultimately reveals that the short story is built upon the themes of family, honor, and classismEach of these themes is significant to the short story, but the theme of family is a sensible starting point due to the main conflict between Sarty and Abner. < Click Essay Writer to order your essay >The theme of family is utilized throughout this short story to show how it can be difficult to maintain familial ties despite the horrific crimes of a family member but ultimately demonstrates the necessity of being a just person. In the case of “Barn Burning”, Sarty is faced with the choice about whether he should tell the courts about his father’s crimes or whether he should remain silent like the other members of his family. Abner confronts Sarty, knowing that he was willing to give up his father to the courts. [“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]

He says “You were fixing to tell them. You would have told him.” (Faulkner 3). After beating Sarty for confirming this, he says “You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you” (Faulker 4). This presents a severe conflict for Sarty who would like to see actual justice, but cannot bring himself to act against his father by giving him up to the authorities. Sarty is faced with the immensely difficult choice of maintaining his family ties or preventing innocent people from being harmed. By the end of the story, it is clear that Sarty’s actions of warning Abner’s latest victims of their impending barn burning results in his father’s death. . [Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]

Avatar photo

By Hanna Robinson

Hanna has won numerous writing awards. She specializes in academic writing, copywriting, business plans and resumes. After graduating from the Comosun College's journalism program, she went on to work at community newspapers throughout Atlantic Canada, before embarking on her freelancing journey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts