[Music] the plot of Barn Burning by William Falkner involves Colonel sorus Snopes or Sardi a little boy from a poor family whose father decides to burn barns of the people he works for the setting of the story is early spring in Rural America in the end of the 19th century the story allows the reader to witness several days of the family's life and observe the development of sard attitude towards his father's Behavior over the course of a short period of time Sardi evolves from a boy who is completely subservient to his authoritarian father into to a strong willed person ready to act bravely in the name of Justice the story shows how sardy hopes that his father will change and tries to give him another chance yet eventually he realizes that his father will never abandon his old habits the story is filled with imagery and explores the themes of Hope the conflict between the family ties in Morality and human selfishness the major subject of the story is the moral dilemma of the main character Sardi and his journey from a strong defender of his father to the person who exposes him the Story begins in a courtroom where sard's father Abner snopes is prosecuted for committing arson the boy is summoned to testify and he realizes that his father wants him to deceive the judge he aims for me to lie he listens to justices words but does not respond the boy said nothing enemy enemy he thought this scene demonstrates how faithful Sardi is to his father he is ready to tell lies to protect him he perceives the judge as his enemy who wants to harm his father thus Sardi is portrayed as a person for values family more than the truth another example of sard's loyalty is the moment when the father spoils an expensive rug and Sardi tries to support him he won't get no 20 bushels he won't get none he tries to show support for his father despite knowing that Abner intentionally soiled the rug occasionally there are moments in the story when Sardi expresses hope that his father will change and cease to act carelessly and commit Outrageous Acts including Crime After father gets acquitted they leave in their wagon and Sardi thinks to himself maybe he's done satisfied now now that he has yet he stops himself from finishing the sentence in his head as if being embarrassed by his own thoughts feeling shameful of thinking badly about his father the next moment when he expresses hope emerges on their way to Major despain's house which astounds him with its beauty he is thinking maybe it will even change him now he still believes that his father can renounce his old conduct and hopes that the peaceful setting of The Farm can help him with it the last moment of Hope arises when the father is charged with 20 corn bushels Sardi wants to believe that this will stop Abner from being what he used to be these scenes depict Sardi as a person who is empathic and ready to give his father another chance this gradual development of sard's attitude leads to his final decision to inform major despain about Abner's intention his motivation to resolve the main conflict of the story in such a way stems from his understanding that the father is not willing to change despite being given every opportunity to do so the Justice acquits him in the first arson case he probably realizes that Abner is guilty but seeing his poor family he decides to let him go major despain does not charge Abner the full price of the rug instead imposing a mere 20 bushel fine on him which then drops to 10 bushels with the help of the Justice yet Abner decides to ignore all the credit granted to him by the people around including his son and continues to act selfishly being a witness to his father's Behavior Sardi realizes that nothing is going to change him he intentionally notifies the barn owner perhaps realizing that this may mean death for his father but thinking that it is the only way to end this vicious cycle Abner also serves as an example of what can happen to a person if they choose to stay completely numb to the needs of others even the closest people at some point speaking of Abner the narrator says that there was something about his wolf-like independence this quality may seem like an advantage but as it can be seen from the events in the story it only leads to despair for the people around such a person moreover Abner is a war veteran yet readers learn that he was only after the spoils it meant nothing and less than nothing to him if it were enemy booty or his own this further reinforces Abner's image as a character who has no morals he continu continues to stay extremely egocentric and irresponsible despite having a family the story is also filled with interesting imagery and symbolism that fuler uses to make it more engaging one of the most notable symbols of the story is fire which is an element closely associated with Abner as the plot unfolds there are several descriptions of his relationship with fire for example a small fire neat niggered almost a shrewd fire such fires were his father's habit here a stark difference can be traced between the usual fire Abner makes and the massive fire he starts when committing arson this can be a metaphor for how much effort he puts into his family a meager fire versus how much seal goes into his Vengeance a huge fire this creates an interesting figurative realm that completes the narrative and intensifies the effect of the story Barn Burning lets its readers better understand the implication of being faced with a difficult dilemma between saving loved ones and making the morally right decision William fauler has managed to equip his short story with a powerful message that sometimes people have to make a choice that does not favor their family members the story also gives an insight into the life of a person who neglects the interests of others and is oblivious to what his closest people may experience because of their actions it shows how selfishness corrupts humans to the point when they have to be stopped by their own children it also demonstrates that empathy and hope do not last forever and sometimes there comes a moment where they have to be replaced with decisive measures the imagery enhances the plot of the story and influences the reader allowing them to get the feeling of what the characters are experiencing study Corgi can help you make your study smarter visit study corgi.mix