Barn Burning and Sonny's Blues

A detailed Summary of Barn Burning and Sonny's Blues

In the story Barn Burning by William Faulkner, it was obvious that the character of young Colonel Sartoris Snopes, or Sarty, would end up either running away from home to escape his father, or stay and become the same type of man that his farther was. In many ways, he was more mature and grown up than his father, who may have been mentally ill, suffering from depression. Depression derived from being considered "white trash" and the connotations that go along with that title.

In the courtroom scene at the beginning of the story, we see that while Sarty is very proud of his father, he also feels protective of him as if their roles were reversed. This includes lying to a judge in a court of law as seen in the next thought of Sarty, "He aims for me to lie..., and I will have to do hit." Sarty is willing to put his own honesty on the line to help his father Abner. It is not until the Snopes leave the area that the audience is made aware of Sarty's distaste of his father's actions.

Soon though, when the trial is over and the family is on the wagon leaving the town from which they had been banished, Sarty says to himself, "Maybe he's done satisfied now, now that he has..." He now begins to see that perhaps his father is not so

Despite all the feelings Sarty has of his father and the wrongdoings, Sarty still obeys him. This is evident when Sarty is getting the oil for his father, and questions what he is doing. He thinks to himself as he is running to the stable, "I could keep on...I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again. Only I can't. I can't." That was the turning point for Sarty; it was the final time he shows any respect for his father. In addition, it was the first time he contemplates fleeing from his father.

In the final scene of the story, after he gets away from his mother, he runs to warn Major de Spain of the impending doom, thus crossing his father and showing that he has lost all respect for him. It also shows how much he himself has changed, and how much he disapproves of the unjustified torching of yet another barn. With the last torching Sarty decides to run. Only when two shots are heard in the distance, does Sarty pause to briefly to cry out for his doomed father. He then begins on his way for a new life, one without the fear of his father and threat of arson, and without knowing the outcome of his family's fate.

perfect and just, and begins to question his father and his foolish actions. When the family arrives at the doors to their next home, Sarty is very optimistic about their new situation and thinks of his father, "Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he couldn't help but be." Now, rather than feeling proud of his father for what he is, Sarty shows that he wants Abner to change. Sarty perhaps event pities his father for not being able to control himself, much as a parent would do with a wayward son.

If indeed his father was

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sarty Abner, James Baldwin, Snopes Sarty, Sonny's Blues, Sarty Maybe, Grace Sonny's, Abner Snopes, William Faulkner, sonny's blues, , proud father, story narrator, comes understanding, narrator sonny's, sonny's music,

Approximate Word count = 1167
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels