Summary Of Class Warfare In William Faulkners Barn Burning

Class conflict, also known as class warfare or class struggle disguises itself in many different and unique forms throughout William Faulkner’s â€Å" Barn Burning.† Granted, the story draws the reader to reflect upon the uneven distribution of wealth keeping industrious farmers static with regards to class and indigence in 1890’s Mississippi. Be that as it may, the enduring struggle of the story is between father and son in values, morals, and ideology. At an early age one is Sartoris, knowing far too well the difference between right and wrong, knows that something in these trial proceedings smells bad and that inevitably he will have to choose the latter in order to align his ideals to his Father’s misaligned ones. The Justice calls†¦show more content†¦Questioned is the reasoning for the size of the fire constructed for the family as opposed to the ones that were set for strangers â€Å"a small fire, neat, niggard almost, a shrewd fire; su ch fires were his father’s habit and custom always, even in freezing weather.† â€Å"Why not a big one; why should not a man who had not only seen the waste and extravagance of war, but who had in his blood an inheritance of voracious prodigality with material not his own, have burned everything in sight?† (Faulkner 354). The beginnings of a turning point manifest themselves here as you see Sartoris imply the reason for such a â€Å"niggard blaze† was in cowardly practice while hiding â€Å"his string of horses† or as Abner referred to them â€Å"captured horses.† (Faulkner 354). Furthermore, Sartoris reasons â€Å"fire spoke to his father’s mainspring, as steel or powder to other men, as the weapon for the preservation of integrity.† (Faulkner 354). Ever the cunning one, Abner sees the struggle within his youngest son and states, â€Å"You were fixing to tell them. You would have told him.† prior to striking him â€Å"w ith the flat hand on the side of the head, hard but without heat.† (Faulkner 355). Consequently, Abner seizes upon the opportunity to explain his family first ideals, an honor/loyalty among thieves, a code if you will however skewed they maybe from what society has deemed as core values, traits of a man, those to be embodied. â€Å"You’re getting to a man. You got to learn. You got to learnShow MoreRelatedLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages.............................................................................................. 379 Using Venn-Euler Diagrams to Test for Invalidity ....................................................................... 385 The Logic of Only in Class Logic...................................................................................................... 395 Review of Major Points ...............................................................................................................