When we talk about
Southern literature we can think about Southern history, racism, sense of
social class and the meaning of land, nevertheless, one of the most powerful
ideas is the one which is connected to the significance of family.
In “Barn Burning”, written by the
American author William Faulkner, we can see this concept, which at the same
time is related to the idea of slavery, but why?
Well, when we read "Barn Burning", it seems that
for Snopes loyalty to family is a moral imperative. Thus, for him family
loyalty is valued above all else. The family seems to exist outside of society
and even outside the law, and their moral code is based on family loyalty instead
of traditional notions of right or wrong.
Based on this, we could say that if anyone should
lie to save his/her family
from danger, he/she must do it despite
the fact that he/she is breaking social
codes. Actually this is what we see when Sarty is called up to testify against his
father, and he knows he's going to have to lie and say his father didn't burn
the barn, just because Snopes tells him
that he should remain loyal to his “blood,” or family, or he will find himself
alone.
In this sense, Sarty , who is being part of a society that breaks the code of his father, is a simple slave of a tradition and
social convention that draws him to lie. However,
after Snopes once again plans to burn a barn, he understands that family
loyalty comes at too great a cost and is too heavy a burden. He rejects family
loyalty and instead betrays his father, warning de Spain that his barn is about
to be burned. Only when Snopes is “killed”, he is free.
It is interesting how we can take this situation and put it in a real context. Generally, people take more into consideration the family loyalty, and this is also a religious principle, due to the fact that it is more important and valued the love and respect towards family. However, Sarty is under a real pressure when he needs to make the decision of being loyal to his family or to the society, due to his powerful sense of justice. Sarty knows that his father is wrong, and he also knows that he will be free if he makes the correct decision. Decision that led to his father's death.
ResponderEliminarI want to highlight a sentence that you wrote that I think can be further analyzed. You mentioned that Sarty "understands that family loyalty comes at too great a cost and is too heavy a burden". But why is it such a burden? Why does it come at too great a cost? It it because Sarty's loyalty towards his family comes into conflict with, as you say, social conventions?
ResponderEliminarI think it goes beyond that. I believe to understand the significance in Sarty's shift of loyalty it is important know what loyalty is and how it is formed. Loyalty implies ties and commitment. When you are loyal to someone you share a bond with that person.
But you don't just bond with anyone, you look for someone that you can associate yourself with. The association that you make with someone (e.g. a common purpose or interest) and the affective attitude that this association carries is what induces your loyalty. You and the person or group you are loyal to work together towards common aims and objectives.
Sartry's loyalty is based on the ties formed from being born into a particular family. The crisis that Sarty goes through is because his interests, his purpose, his ideas, and so on, differ from those of his father. There is a clash of sorts. He feels obliged to his father because Snopes is just that, his father. There is a blood relationship.
I think that Sarty does not turn his back on his family just because of the social conventions. He ultimately puts what he deems as "right" before his loyalty to his family because he no longer shares the sense of belonging he once had with his family, he has no higher allegiance to his father. I personally think that this is due to his mothers influence on him, but that is a different point.
In sum, I think that Sarty's family loyalty was not only in conflict with the social conventions, but with his own loyalty (personal interests, objectives, etc.). This is something I found interesting to think about since a conflict of loyalties is no easy matter. It involves a number of things to consider. A circumstance such as what Sarty goes through is not expected of such a young boy.