The story is centered on Sarty' s emotional dilemma. Faulkner places heavy emphasis on the sensational details that the boy feels. This can be seen in the opening paragraph when we find that he is unconsciously aware that things are happening.

The frequent references to blood refer to the past, where you come from, to your origins and your "descendants". This idea creates tension throughout the story, as the father demands identification from his so

For him, he is Abner Snopes versus the rest of mankind; he instructs the boy that everyone is his enemy. For Mr Snopes, "they" is the enemy. The boy says that "If I had said they wanted only truth, justice, he would have hit me again" (p.167).

By warning de Spain, Sarty identifies himself with an image different than his father's, and only by violating his blood does he gain his freedom. Whether Mr Snopes is actually killed, we do not know; it's not important. For Sarty, his father is dead. He feels relieved because he has destroyed the overwhelming image that threatened his awakening identity and at last, fear and terror are gone. His nightmare ended, he awakens at peace and ready for the future.

The father's will is so great that it creates a force into which everything (and everyone) must flow or be destroyed. He cannot tolerate anybody who would challenge the dominance of his will. By allowing his hog to come into the farmer's corn and by dirtying and ruining de Spain's rug, he deliberately creates a conflict that would assert his supremacy. In the same way, Sarty' s father is seen as an outcast and pariah among men ("Leave this country and don't come back to it", p.164) but he accepts no order that is not of his blood ("to learn to stick to your own blood...any blood to stick to you" p.167).

n against their “mutual” enemy. Sarty has inherited the traditions and the father tries to convince his son that their interests are identical.

The boy's anxiety is created by his awakening sense of his own individuality and we find that torn between strong emotional attachment to his father and his growing, he needs to assert himself; actually, Sarty' s crisis is a psychological one.

Some topics in this essay:
Snopes Sarty, God Abner, Abner Snopes, Heaven Hell, De Spain's, Spain Sarty, William Faulkner, de spain, Barn Burning, Oh God, abner snopes, oh god, gain freedom, truth justice, de spain's, cold violence, boy's anxiety, barn burning,