The Themes Portrayed In Faulkner's "Barn Burning".

Essay by JayDigga99College, UndergraduateA-, April 2003

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Jamar DeWalt

The Themes Portrayed In Faulkner's "Barn Burning".

The works of William Faulkner are drenched with the ambiance of the South. Faulkner, a master when it comes to southern dialect, is highly revered as a "Southern writer". His works include, but are not limited to: "All the Dead Pilots", "Barn Burning", "Country Mice", and "Knight's Gambit". A Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning novelist, Faulkner's prose can be difficult to comprehend. Thus vast worlds of resources are available for the reader to gather his/her own understanding.

The following essay will take an in-depth look at "Barn Burning". This piece is probably one of Faulkner's most renowned works. The story is centered on resentment and inner turmoil. The main character in this piece, AbnerSnopes, is a man with much hate in his heart. He's a sharecropper who despises wealthy people. It is that same resentment that causes him to burn their barns as revenge for his own shortcomings.

His despise for the beurocratic aristocracy has fueled his hatred to the point where his mental wellness is considered highly questionable. Throughout the story, he demonstrates that he is a cold-hearted, violent, selfish, and lawless individual.

Abner's unchanging character shows his cold heartedness. After being sentenced to leave the country for burning a man's barn, he shows no emotions to his family. The oppressive conditions, which he forces his family to endure, are inhumane. During the story, there was not a time when he apologized or offered a word of encouragement to them. His tone of voice when talking to them is bitter and bossy, and he never said thank you.

Abner's unchanging character is evident not only in his role as being cold-hearted but also in his role as being lawless. Abner's act of breaking...