Barn Burning Sarty

In the short story “Barn Burning” written by author William Faulkner written in 1939 readers meet the Snope’s family. The character who stood out initially was the youngest son who goes by the name of Colonel Sartoris Snopes also known as Sarty. Throughout the story readers watch as the main character, Sarty, becomes his own person (transforming into adulthood) beginning from struggling to tell the truth in order to protect his family. Sartoris battles between being morally righteous or remaining loyal to his family even though they are doing wrong.
Initially the story begins in the justice of the Peace’s court house which was also a store. On trial is Abner Snopes, Sarty’s father, and Abner is being accused of burning down the Harris’ barn.
While sitting on the steps Sarty hears his mother crying out to his father saying, “Abner! No! No! Oh, God. Abner!” (Faulkner 9). Sarty noticed that his father was dressed “carefully for shabby and ceremonial violence” and he started to ask his father what he was doing. In this moment Sarty reveals that he was used to this very action of helping his father burn down properties because it was an “old habit” (Faulkner 9). This to him was “the old blood which he had not been permitted to choose for himself” and now was the chance he could prevail and win the battle between being morally righteous and doing the right thing of not helping burn down anything else or he could remain loyal to his family and continue to burn down properties of others (Faulkner 9). Sarty ran and as he was running he debated on running and never stopping just to get away from his problems. Instead of taking the coward way out here is where the reader witnesses the main character start his transformation into adulthood and instead of leaving he decides to tell the De Spain’s what his father is planning to do to their home and all he could yell as he arrived at the De Spain’s home was “Barn!” and this signifies the moment he decided to choose the ethical way rather than owing loyalty to his family. This is a significant moment because it is when Sarty finally stops letting his father think for him and he is thinking for himself and this is him growing