The Symbolism of Blood in Barn Burning by William Faulkner

Need help with assignments?

Our qualified writers can create original, plagiarism-free papers in any format you choose (APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.)

Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.

Click Here To Order Now

It is generally agreed that different symbols tend to be used as the way of the authors ideas interpretation. In case of Faulkners Barn Burning, blood might be one of the metaphors which is reclaimed as a reference for either genetic relationships or committed crimes and their consequences. That is one of the points of showing the connection between family members and responsibility for what they did. Throughout the story, bloodline illustrates the imminent influence of the past on the present, even in ways that are not entirely obvious.

At the beginning of the story, main character, whose name is Sarty, was abused by his own thought about being related with his father through blood. First and foremost, according to Bai and Sun, His father was so concerned of their blood, root and dignity. He was used to command others, and acted as if he was a dominator (210). Indeed, that was one of the reasons why the young boy blindly followed the directions of his strict father. On the other hand, the idea of being blood-bond also made Sarty accountable to his father. The severity of his father is also demonstrated when the father educates the younger son, saying that he must become a man and gain the ability to educate himself.

The story follows a kid growing up in the post-Civil War South. This little man was torn between his allegiance to his father and family and his dislike of what his father does, asks him to do, and attempts to teach him. As if he pulled two ways like between two teams of horses (Nichols 89). Eventually, Sarty understood that the blind obedience and the old blood, which he had not been allowed to choose for himself, would not bode well. That was incredibly hard, because in this story community comprising three hierarchical class of land owners, sharecroppers and slaves (Zeidanin and Matarneh 88). So that it is almost impossible to have own opinion, especially for the young boy. By the end of the story, young boy is able to release himself from the prison of his old beliefs. His psychological development away from vengeance and toward justice is significant but perhaps not obvious topic in this shortly paced story. On the most basic level of this multi-layered narrative, Sarty has almost visceral reaction to two truths. The one that his fathers life of provocation and revenge is evil, and another one that Major de Spains way of life appears to symbolize an alternative goodness.

As a matter of fact, blood has a lot of thematic significance in the story, due to its inevitability. The word blood is repeatedly used with the word old, the old fierce pull of blood (Faulkner 3) exemplifies this the best. This represents the overall point that main characters are occupied by the thought that the past is connected to the present so that they must follow their traditions and have the ability to honor their relatives. The fact that Sarty could not escape from his family heritage does not relate to that point. Therefore, the physical presence of blood is more connected to how the family responds with affection to such bounds.

In conclusion, one of the major topics in Barn Burning is the connection between different members of Sartys family and their past relationships so that blood may well symbolize it. Additionally, the topic such as the awareness of the young boy of being unrecognized by his own father is included. The aforementioned theme emphasizes the fact that everybody does not have the ability to choose his or her relatives. Thus, the blood-bond might have lasted forever if Sarty had not shattered it by understanding what is right for him.

Works Cited

Bai, Qian, and Yu Sun. On the Father Images by Anderson and Faulkner-Illustrated by the Triumph of the Egg and Barn Burning. International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, vol. 3, no. 4, 2017, pp. 208-11.

Faulkner, William. Barn Burning. Harpers Magazine, 1939.

Nichols, Mary P. Conflicting Moral Goods William Faulkners Barn Burning. Short Stories and Political Philosophy: Power, Prose, and Persuasion, edited by Erin A. Dolgoy et al., Lexington Books, 2019, pp. 89-103.

Zeidanin, Hussein H., and Mohammed Matarneh. Social Alienation and Displacement in Faulkners Barn Burning, Henrys The Social Triangle and Mansfields The Dolls House. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, vol.7, no. 3, 2018, pp. 85-89.

Need help with assignments?

Our qualified writers can create original, plagiarism-free papers in any format you choose (APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.)

Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.

Click Here To Order Now