Cultural Criticism of "Barn Burning" In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning", a young boy must face his father and face the reality of a racist society. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong and learn to grow up the right way in a racial environment. Faulkner's setting is one of the most important literary elements in the story. He takes a young black boy and puts him in a real world of chaos and disorder. In the South, race is one of the most important factors in how one would live his or her life. The only way he can retain his own dignity in the end is to believe in his own courage and goodwill.The young boy, Sartoris, has a kind of loyalty for his father, Abner Snopes. He admires him and everything he does. He believes that his father is always right. In the beginning of the story, Sartoris (Sarty) is faced with his first major conflict.He is in the court room as a witness to a barn burning. The judge can only pardon Abner because Sarty is too young and can not be used as the key witness, but the judge tells them they must leave the country for their own safety and the safety of others. All the while Sarty thinks to himself how he must not talk to the white men. "Our enemy... ourn! mine and hisn both! He's my father!" (397). He sees the white men in the courthouse as the enemy, even the judge. In Sarty's mind, the judge is the enemy because he is white. He only believes so because that is how he was raised to believe.After they leave the country, Abner gets into trouble again. This time Sarty stays loyal to himself instead of his father. He warns a man named Major de Spain about his barn burning. Sarty has now changed because he thought on his own. When he realizes that some of the things his father does is wrong, he decides to run off and be on his own because he does not want to live that way anymore. Sarty has moved out of childhood, developing a mind and will of his own. He is no longer ...
