In our discussion of William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning" during class today, there was much disagreement over what the main character, Colonel Sartoris Snopes', purpose was for telling Major de Spain that his father was setting out to burn his barn. Quite a few people were in agreement that Sarty's main motive for telling Major de Spain about his father's intentions was so that he could receive the proper punishment for his actions. At first, I believed this to be a reasonable explanation for Sarty's actions, however I was soon dissuaded.
The previous argument would, in my opinion, explain why Sarty chose to reveal Abner’s plan, only if Abner had not received punishments prior to this occasion. At the beginning of the story, Abner is tried in a different county for burning the barn of his previous landlord, Mr. Harris. Even though Mr. Snopes is never proven guilty of this crime, the Snopes family is still forces to leave the county due to his aforementioned actions. Later in the story, Abner is brought before a judge after he ruins Major de Spain’s rug by attempting to wash it with harsh, homemade lye. Abner is deemed guilty and is required to pay 10 bushels of corn of his crop to Major de Spain at the end of his harvest.
From this, we can see that Sarty’s father has been punished many times for his actions, yet has seen no considerable growth in attempting to correct his mistakes. I think that Sarty’s only motive for telling Major de Spain of his father’s intentions was simply because he felt like de Spain did not deserve to have his father enact such unjust means just to get even with him. Although my answer to the question may not be quite as complex as some of the other possibilities, it still serves to fill a gap in the information we are given directly from Faulkner’s short story.
Interesting outlook, I like it.
ReplyDeleteI think he was just tired of his father always hurting other people, and that Sarty is a very moral character. He doesn't like to see the rules broken and his sense of justice outweighs his love of his father.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Duncan. I think that his sense of right and wrong and strong moral compass would not allow him to let his father destroy yet another barn. I also think that Sarty did not think that his father would burn another barn, shown by the quote on page 22, where Sarty thinks to himself, "They are safe from him". I think Sarty envisioned his new residence as a new beginning where his father would not burn barns anymore, and the shock that his father still chose to burn the barn cause him to tell Major de Spain of his father's actions.
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