William Faulkners Barn Burning - Free Essay Example

Research Essay: William Faulkners Barn Burning Is blood thicker than water? Faulkners Barn Burning is about a sons struggle in a life ruled by conflict and violence at the hand of his own father. The irony of the story is his abusive, criminal father, who values family loyalty above all, creates a heavy burden for his family. The son, Sarty, is put in a very precarious and unfair position of defending his obviously guilty arsonist father. Blood may be thicker than water, however, in this familys case, the cost of their coerced loyalty is their dignity, happiness, freedom and morality. The virtues and complexities in deciding to do the right thing especially when it goes against family loyalty is never-ending. Strangely, by instilling the concept of unyielding loyalty, and to a self-serving, hypocritical father; Sarty matures and develops his own belief system which allows him to become loyal to higher values. The beginning of the story is set in a general store which doubles as a local municipal court. The protagonist of the story, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, Sarty, was attending his fathers court hearing for an alleged barn burning. Sartys father, Abner, is sitting before the Justice of the Peace in this crowded room. Although the hearing between Mr. Harris and Abner Snopes was out of Sartys sight, he could still hear the Justice speak. Sarty listened helplessly, it raised an anger along with a strong sense of loyalty for his father within his heart and mind. The author states, just a little of fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of blood (Faulkner 375). Sarty saw the Justice of the Peace as an enemy who was unfairly persecuting his father, stated in the story, Our enemy he thought in that despair; ourn! Mine and hisn both! Hes my father (Faulkner 375). Mr. Harris accused Abner for burning his barn in retaliation over his hog getting into Mr. Harris corn, not once, but twice. Mr. Harris explained, he returned the hog to Abner and even gave him enough wire to repair the pen to prevent the hog from escaping again, the Justice asks, But what proof do you have, Mr. Harris? I told you. The hog got into my corn. I caught it up and sent it back to himWhen he came to get it I gave him enough wire to patch up his penBut thats not proof. Dont you see thats not proof? (Faulkner 375). Mr. Harris said the next time the hog got into his corn, he would keep the hog and told Abner it would cost him a dollar pound fee (Faulkner 375). That night, a black man came by with a dollar and said, He say to tell you wood and hay kin burn (Faulkner 375). That very night Mr. Harris barn burned to the ground. Mr. Harris insisted the Justice call Sarty to testify because he was a witness to what had transpired that night. Poor, shabby Sarty slowly made his was through the crowded store until he reached the Justice. Sarty was scared, he knew his father expected him to lie about that night. The boy knew he had to lie the old fierce pull of blood loyalty. Whats your name, boy? The Justice said. Colonel Sartoris Snopes, the boy whisperedColonel Sartoris? I reckon anybody name for Colonel Sartoris in this country cant help but tell the truth, can they? (Faulkner 375-376). The Justice of the Peace had deliberately sown the seeds of morality in Sartys mind with those words. The Justice knew what Sarty was up against, torn between the loyalty to a tyrannical father and the right thing telling the truth. The Justice had shown Sarty compassion and understanding by not making him testify against his father in open court. Mr. Harris also demonstrated compassion when returning the hog and giving Abner the wire to fix his fence. These men, who were not family had shown Sarty more kindness and mercy than his own father ever bestowed upon him. It is evident in this story that all kindheartedness received came from outside the family and not from within. The family was nomadic, moving from one dilapidated tenant shack to another was a way of life for Sarty and his family. The Snopes family relocated numerous times because his father made enemies wherever they went. The last plantation they worked was that of the Major and Mrs. de Spains mansion. When Sarty and his father first approached the home of Major de Spain, Sarty finally senses that these dignified people will not stir up ugly, paranoid feelings in his father, and their mansion is blessed with freedom from strife, rendering even the barns and stable and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive (Faulkner 375). Abner, feeling envious, immediately creates an altercation between the wealthy de Spain and himself, the destitute tenant. As they walk up the drive, Snopes deliberately walks through fresh horse manure and does not have the decency to clean his shoes before he enters and walks on the light-colored expensive French rug in Mrs. de Spains vestibule. Mrs. de Spain is traumatized by this mans act of blatant ignorance resulting in her ruined rug; and turn out Snopes and son from her house. Later that day, Major de Spain brings the rug to Snopes shack, requiring that it be washed. Rather than permit Mrs. Snopes to clean the rug correctly, Abner orders his bovine daughters to clean the rug using harsh lye soap. Abners mission is to add insult to injury and have the treasured rug destroyed for no other reason than to be cruel. After Major de Spain finds out the rug has been destroyed, he sought reparation for the damaged rug (Haisty 1-3). Major de Spain states, You must realize you have ruined that rugSo Im going to charge you twenty bushels of corn against your crop. Ill add it in your contract and when you come to the commissary you can sign it. That will not keep Mrs. De Spain quiet but maybe it will teach you to wipe your feed off before you enter her house again (Faulkner 382). Again, Abner was getting off relatively easy, however, he did not see it this way. Abner became so angry and vengeful, he took Major de Spain to court over this matter. The Justice of the Peace said, And you claim that twenty bushels of corn is too high for the damage you did to the rug? He brought the rug to me and said he wanted the tracks washed out of it. I washed the tracks out and took the rug back to him. But you didnt carry the rug back to him in the same condition it was in before you made the tracks in it (Faulkner 383). I hold you in damages to Major de Spain to the amount of ten bushels of corn over and above your contract with him, to be paid to him out of your crop at gathering time. Court adjourned (Faulkner 383). Here again, the Justice is nearly bending over backwards to be fair to Abner. All fairness and compassion offered to this family come from outside the family where there are no pull of blood loyalty. It is at this point in Sartys life that he has matured enou gh to act on his own good conscience which invokes his actions to choose right over wrong. Sarty knew his father was going to plan a barn burning that night and he knew what he had to do. As Abner prepares in the night for the barn burning, Abner charges his wife with restraining Sarty. His father knows Sarty can no longer be trusted to assist him in carrying out evil and vengeful deeds. Sarty breaks free from his mothers grip and he can warn the Major of the impending doom. After which, Sarty hears gun shots ring out, he is sure his father and brother have been killed, however, Sarty does not turn back, he keeps running. Sartys cries because he has lost not simply a father but also a person whom he had tried to find the least amount of good. His attempt to convince himself that Abner is brave, is sadly unsuccessful. Sarty finally comes to grips about who is father really was and he did not look back (Evans 27-39). Sartys resolve to strike out on his own rather than return to his family shows the strength of the ten-year-olds convictions. Rather than succumbing to a false hero worship of Abner, Sarty will make his own way in the wide world, despite the plague of war (Ford 527). Blood is thicker than waterthe actual saying is the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. The meaning of this saying is the opposite od how we use it and understand it. The saying means bonds that you have made by choice are more important than the people that you are bound to by blood or the water of the womb. The saying implies the fact that the bonds you choose for yourself can mean much more than the ones you dont have much say in (mystudentvoices.com). By his brave and heroic actions in alerting Major de Spain, Sarty had proven the blood of the covenant, his higher belief system and values, are thicker, more important than the water of the womb which makes family kin.

A Warning Against Hubris - Literature Essay Samples

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a tale in which one simple action leads to a tumbling of catastrophic events. When the Mariner shoots the Albatross, a bird who has brought him and his sailors good fortune, he does so without reason. In ancient Greek tragedies hubris, or excessive pride, often leads to the hero’s inevitable downfall. Further, in the Catholic faith, pride is one of the greatest sins a person could commit. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner illustrates how these beliefs are held in good faith. Without a reason given to justify the senseless killing of the bird, one can insinuate that the Mariner’s senseless killing of the bird could only be through pride. His self-pleasure of bringing down a great creature was fleeting, as punishment soon bore down upon the sailors. Through his excessive pride, ungratefulness, and ignorance of other’s wishes, the Mariner brought disaster upon himself and his crew. In the beginning of the tale, the Mariner stops a wedding-guest to tell him the story of his defeat, as he is compelled to do. In the story, the Mariner is sailing through an area of mist and ice after being pushed by a storm. The crew was having great difficulty until an Albatross appeared, which cleared the fog and broke the ice to safely guide the ship through the sea. As the Mariner states, â€Å"The ice did split did split with a thunder-fit; / The helmsman steered us through! / And a good south wind sprung up behind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norton 445). The Albatross, a great sea-bird, was determined to be a bird of good omen, and was received joyously by the crew. However, the Mariner did not heed their gratitude: â€Å"God save thee, ancient Mariner! From the fiends, that plague thee thus! — Why look’st thou so?† — With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross. (Norton 445-446) In the passage above the wedding-guest is commending the Mariner on his good fortune; however, the Mariner cuts him off in one simple line. He did not provide an explanation for his actions or a reasonable cause as to why he would kill such a bird. It seems to be an insensible act, to slay a creature that has helped them survive. However, the Albatross is a great, rare sea-bird and to slay a great creature is an act worth boasting. Thus, against the wishes of his crew, he shot the Albatross in hopes of achieving glory and status. The Mariner’s crew was outraged at the killing of the Albatross. They cried out in against the crime committed: For all averred, I had killed the bird That made the breeze to blow. Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay That made the breeze to blow! (Norton 446). The crew saw what the Mariner did not: that the slaughter of a creature who had aided them in their journey was a horrendous crime. However, soon after the Albatross is killed the fog clears; this causes them to doubt the very belief they held so strongly: â€Å"’Twas right, said they, such birds to slay / That bring the fog and mist† (Norton 446). Justifying the crime against a righteous creature named the crew as partners in the crime. Thus, one must hold fast in one’s beliefs, for if one wavers, the doubt may cause one’s downfall. Shortly after, the ship is plagued by a drought and the sea begins to crawl with slimy creatures. The crew begins to fear that the slaying of the Albatross brought evil upon them. They attempted to place the blame on the Mariner by forcing him to hang the dead Albatross around his neck: â€Å"Instead of the cross, the Albatross about my neck was hung† (Norton 447). This simple act of hanging the Albatross around his neck like a crucifix is significant. The act of wearing a crucifix is to show faith; the Albatross hangs around the Mariner’s neck in a grotesque imitation of faith. In reality, he wears the Albatross as an admission of pride and because his crew could not accept their own blame. It can even be taken further to imply that Coleridge is attempting to portray the Mariner as a mock Jesus figure. Just as Jesus Christ bore the sins of his people, the Mariner is bearing the sins of his crew. In this way, the crew hopes to escape judgment. However, the distribution of blame did not work. It soon becomes apparent that the blame that one holds for a crime cannot be erased or handed off, for soon a ship captained by the spirits Death and Night-mare Life-in-Death appear and one by one the entire crew dies. The Mariner describes this horror, â€Å"And every soul, it passed me by, / Like the whizz of my cross-bow!† (Norton 449). It is interesting to note that the Mariner compares the shooting of the Albatross with his cross-bow to the departing of the souls of his crew. The simile made here implies that the Mariner does associate the death of his sailors with his crime against the Albatross, and here is where the reader first realizes that the Mariner does feel guilt for his crime. This is further confirmed when he states, â€Å"And never a saint took pity on / My soul in agony† (Norton 449). Since the Mariner actually committed the slaughter, he bears the worst punishment. While his crew is dying all around hi m, he does not, but is forced to live with his guilt. To illustrate the depth of his guilt, the Mariner states, â€Å"And a thousand thousand slimy things / Lived on; and so did I† (Norton 450). However, in his guilt he appreciates the water-snakes and blesses them, and this small act redeems him. The Albatross that he bore around his neck like a grotesque trophy slipped from his neck and into the sea, like chains being lifted from around him. When the Mariner wakes, his dead crew rises and begins to steer the ship. However, their bodies do not contain the souls that they bore previously; instead, the bodies are commanded by angelic spirits. The ship moves through the water with a supernatural force. After the Mariner faints, he hears to voices explaining the situation. He hears: â€Å"Is it he?† quoth one, â€Å"Is this the man? By him who died on cross, With his cruel bow he laid full low The harmless Albatross. (Norton 453-454) Again, the voice references Jesus Christ as the one who died on the cross in order for the reader to see the Mariner as a grotesque comparison to the Jesus. A second voice warns, â€Å"†¦ ‘The man hath penance done, / And penance more will do† (Norton 454), implying that the Mariner’s torment is not yet over. The Mariner’s suffering continues after he reaches land. By some compulsion, he tells his story to everyone that he meets: â€Å"And till my ghastly tale is told, / This heart within me burns† (Norton 458). The reader could insinuate that this particular punishment is given to the Mariner to serve as a warning to others. Through the repeated telling of his tale, the Mariner shames himself. Again and again the Mariner must admit to his wrongdoing and reiterate what happened to his crew due to his hubris. The very admittance of the crime is the opposite of pride, and for that reason it is a fitting punishment. Furthermore, the spirit could have given this punishment to the Mariner to instill more awareness into others. This is illustrated when the Mariner finishes telling his tale to the wedding-guest and he left the wedding stunned. Coleridge states: He went like one that hath been stunned, And is of sense forlorn. A sadder and a wiser man, He rose the morrow morn. (Norton 459) In this stanza, it is apparent that the Mariner’s tale served as a warning. The wedding-guest learned from the Mariner’s mistake and grew wiser; he is less likely to make the same mistake as the Mariner. Perhaps hubris can only be counteracted through shame, as that is the only way one can truly negate an internal vice. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’s central theme of pride can serve several different purposes. It can serve to warn against the excessive arrogance, the desire for glory, the ignoring of other’s desires and beliefs, and the passing of blame from one person to the other. Through the tragic tale of the Mariner and his crew, the reader can infer that humility and gratitude are always good virtues to possess, one must always be respectful of another’s wishes, and pride can only be negated by shame. The Mariner’s tale teaches the reader many important lessons, and perhaps that is why Coleridge chose to write it down: to serve as a warning against hubris.