The story “Barn burning” by William Faulkner, at a glance appears to concentrate mainly on the character of the young boy Colonel Sartoris Snopes (Sarty) and his inner conflict. Pressured by his father (Abner Snopes) to lie in court

Sarty, however, still young and with no other place to go does lie for his father, taking his father’s advice and sticking to his own blood. As much as he despises his father’s actions he still cares about his father, always living in the hope that his father will change his ways. Unlike his father and brother, Sarty wants nothing more than to be part of the “peace and dignity”(Faulkner 377) that he feels the Major de Spain has because of his house, because it represents money, power, and class. He does not despise them or what they have. For him the house represents safety. “They are safe from him” (Faulkner 377) because of their house and what it represents. It is a safety, which he envies. He too wants to be safe from his father. He too wants to belong to a “people whose lives are part of this dignity and peace”. (Faulkner 377)

Ultimately the story seems to be more about the relationships and differences between the rich and the poor than is about the relationship between Sarty and his father. The constant traveling by the family was caused by

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