Barn Burning

Introduction

William Faulkner's story “Barn Burning,” first published in Harper's Magazine in 1939 and winner of an O. Henry story award for that year widely anthologized. It and “A Rose for Emily” are the most common introductions to Faulkner in high-school and college American literature courses (Bloom, pp. 233).

Discussion

At the time that William Faulkner's short story “Barn Burning” was first published in Harper's Bazaar in 1939, the American and global economies crippled by the depression, Americans disturbed about the threat of communism, Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin were in power, and World War II was just erupting. Bleakness and despair were prevailing tones in American life and American literature. No less, so than in Faulkner's story about Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes and his father, Abner Snopes. “Barn Burning” is a story of raw anguish and torment, both physical and psychological. The work reflects the political, economic, and philosophical climate of a troubled era. Yet, Faulkner manages to raise a banner of hope and reassurance for the reader in the final hour. It is, indeed, the final hour when, in the last two paragraphs, a sense of relief comes over the reader as the fate of the boy suddenly shifts. The ending is neither melodramatic nor burdened with the implausibility of a deux et machina effect.

The story is, however, interesting as a prelude to the Snopes trilogy, The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion. Flem Snopes, the most outrageous member of their tribe, is the unifying character of the trilogy. Although "Barn Burning" portrays Flem and his parents, Flem's name (unpleasant in the extreme) never appears in the story. Nor is he its principal character. Primary focus is on Abner Snopes, Flem's father, and on Sarty, Flem's younger brother. His life is one of monotony as seen in the following passage:

“"Go to the barn and get that can of oil we were oiling the wagon with," he said. The boy did not move. Then he could speak. "What…" he cried "What are you…" "Go get that oil," his father said. "Go."” (Faulkner, pp. 23).

The tone in the above passage reflects a weariness and boredom with an unchanging landscape for young Sarty. As migrant sharecroppers, only the Snopes' family had short-term stability. To compound matters, there was also very little emotional stability. Abner made Sarty privy to his vengeful and fatal acts of violence. He then silenced Sarty with a combination of violence and psychological manipulation. Sarty was torn between a need for safety and a need to protect the victims who suffered at his father's hands. Some critics maintain that Sarty faced with a moral issue and that “Barn Burning” is a story of morality, which filled with hope when he makes the good and rational choice. Except Sarty never had to make that choice, he had been on the verge of giving a truthful account to the Justice of the Peace before the complainant, Harris objected. In the end, Sarty did not make a decision act morally. He did not contact the ...