Barn Burning by William Faulkner Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Faulkner presents a young boy who even at the tender age of 10 is uniquely aware of what is right and what is wrong (Comprone 18). Masterfully fabricated elements within the story help to develop the fact that Abner Snopes is an absolute tyrant. These include but are not limited to the beating that Sartoris faces as the family is in the process of relocating, the fact that Abner curses at his wife and instructs her not to tend to Sartoris wounds, the incident with the rug in de Spain’s house, and the final incident concerning the lantern oil. Although these can be understood as elements of conflict, they are at the same time elements of character development with relation to the way that Sartoris views his surrounds, his role in the family, and the level to which he will allow these things to continue before making a stand based on his own convictions. What is intriguing about the development of both of these themes is the fact that they are so inexorably linked. Without Sart oris clearly defined conscience, there would be little if any of a conflict between Sartoris and Abner. We will write a custom essay sample on Barn Burning by William Faulkner or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Without a broken family suffering under the dictatorial rule of a maniacal father, there would be little room to development on the emotions of frustration, rage, anger, regret, guilt, and manhood that Sartoris develops throughout the story. A particularly interesting facet of the way that Faulkner develops the conflict within the story is be the way in which the primary characters are cast. By providing such a detailed and narrative description of the every thought and action of both Sartoris and Abner, the author is able to acquaint the reader so well with these characters that the full extent of the personal conflict is plainly manifest. In order to see the effect to which this is done, one only need consider the way that Sartoris unnamed twin sisters are described. Rather than seek to nuance the story with details of visual importance, Faulkner seeks to diminish nearly every aspect of the story that does not relate to either the conflict or the character development between Abner and Sartoris. Faulkner comically states of the overweight sisters are so lethargic that they behave in a â€Å"bovine† manner. Although this is an interesting and humorous way to describe characters within a story, the mention of this detail only underscores the fact that such a detail is of little overall importance. Rather than going into details with regards to the manner in which the sisters behave/interact with the main characters, they are summarily dismissed as of so little importance that they merely represent stupid animals within the confines of the given story.