William Faulkners Essay Example for Free

William Faulkners EssayWilliams Faulkners Barn Burning will confirm the prevalence of moralistic battle array oer any other fix, so that where difference of opinion exists between the true and business line, truth prevails. Although it could be invoked that blood is thicker than water , it is also counter argued that water is wider than blood . on that point is therefore no substitute for choosing what is right-hand(a) under all circumstances. Discussion of Barn Burning will illustrate in reality the truth of the proposition as it tries to persuade that there is in fact basis to believe and adhere to such proven universality of truth. One argu handst to actualise the thesis of this paper is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to p bents. Doing what is right may result to disobeying parents as long the person employment the responsibility k straightaways what is right. Such is the case in point in the Faulkers Barn Burning which is a story of an ad olescent boy named Sartoris Snopes (or Sarty as hereafter called) who is make to appear in court, hoping he will non postulate to testify in the arson case against his contract (Mr. Snopes).Sarty knew that his stupefy Mr. Snopes was absolutely red-handed of arson solely whoever judge will handle the case now was not an easy thing for Sarty to handle and could still be considered by Sarty as his enemy since the very person to be convicted and was facing the risk of punishment is his very bugger off. Must not Sarty as a son still have to maintain several(prenominal) loyalty habituated the relationship being by blood? Has that point of testifying against wizards father pay off Sarty? Has he has not yet separated himself from his father? What mustiness he do? Answering these challenging questions require going deeper what really happened in the story.Before proceeding to some of details of the story, it is best to express for the mean epoch the argument for upholding the prev alence of moral duty over loyalty to ones father. It may thus be argued that that fulfillment of moral duty would lead in conclusion to indep supplantence of a person. Independence is the price for reservation difficult excerpts for which Sarty is also subject in the story. later laying the arguments to support the thesis there is still need to define some terms as used in the thesis for purpose of clarity.What are the separate meanings of duty to parents, moral duty and independence? Duty to parents is the obligation to obey parents with due all due consideration and respect by originator of the natural relationship. Moral duty is the capacity to take up what is right over what is damage under all circumstances. Independence as defined connotes freedom from obsession in making difficult choices and a declaration by a persons individual responsibility for his or her decision. After the definitions, the arguments may now be supported with important parts of the story.Since th e first argument is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to parents, it may be asked What is right thing that must be done by Sarty and that may result to disobeying his parents? The obvious answer is the decision to tell the court the truth in making his testimony but such testimony could pin down his father, whom he knows to be immoralityy. An independent observer may readily see the internal remainder of loyalty to parents and passionateness of truth in the case of Sarty. t indeed it would be straightforward to say that Sarty whether he likes or must make a choice between right and wrong in the end. He cannot leave a decision hanging between the peace and dignity represented by the de Spains with the concentration and unhappiness of the Snopes family. But one may have to understand that it is more than that. Basing on the storys beginning, when Sarty was prepared to testify that his father was innocent of destroy down that barn, he would have done it beca use it is his job is to stick to his father.One may however see that at the end of the story, Sarty cautioned Major de Spain (the owner) about his fathers intention to burn down the latters stunning orchard. Sarty did this though with his knowledge that this will bring his (Snopes) family down once and for all, and that this could cause neer be able to go home again. This is a difficult decision to make for a boy. How in the world could he made the right one? To do this, Sarty must realize that he was not his father, and the path he wanted to travel in the world was not the same as his fathers.In making a choice, perhaps there is need to go back what led his father to commit arson as subject of ladder for which Sarty was being made to testify. The story would readily tell then the nature or predisposition of Sarty father to burn everything. Sarty Snopes family are wandering farmers, and then there is basis in the story to say that they move around even more often than is normal because of his fathers practice (that has reach a habit) of burning something down every time to express his anger.Perhaps with his personal evaluation, Sarty understood that there was something profoundly psychological wrong about his father, but it would seem that he disregarded his fathers danger. What a bad luck may the incident has meant for Sarty since upon their familys arrival at the beautiful plantation of Major de Spain, Sarty had the facial expression that the de Spains are safe but as event turned out in the story, Sarty did not know that his father could just as easily bring down a big plantation when his father gets angry.In support of the argument that fulfillment of moral duty would lead eventually to independence of a person, it may be stated that what is natural will come to pass. Moral duty which this paper defined as the capacity to choose what is right over what is wrong under all circumstances has its roots in the natural law and violating the same could have grave consequences like the feeling of guilty conscience. Fulfillment of the moral duty has its rewards too to the person as it could mean freedom from guilty conscience and freedom to make more moral decisions that could sustain long term happiness and independence.In may be asked Must loyalty bow at the altar moral duty? When must loyalty come to an end? It may be observed that an important part of the story is about loyalty but there is an inner conflict in which the character of the story must face that is his ability to be loyal to his blood origin. And so in Faulkners Barn Burning, Sarty worn out(p) the majority of the story under a great emotional confusion. What could really cause a young man to tell his father Father amuse stop as what you are doing is wrong. It was therefore the demand for loyalty to his father brought about by the relationship that has caused him mixed emotions as to what is the right or wrong in dealing with his fathers tendency to barn burnings. The re is basis to notice Sartys fathers paranoid thinking and smooth threats that may be giving Sarty the inner battle between whats morally right and family loyalty. In the story, there is that ever-present pull that was causing his guilt feelings. Hence, in one instance he was seen defending his fathers actions and this happened shortly after he was angry with his father for putting the family in such terrible conditions.As in every suffering that must come to an end, he had to be under the true test of loyalty which came at the end of the story when it became clear that his father will be burning the landlords barn down after the incident a certain incident indoors his knowledge. Sarty was angry but the guilt never stopped. If viewed in psychology, it may observed that anger and guilt could really happen together at the same time for Sarty and one would ask Which emotion has the greater chance of being expressed or realized into actions? First it must also be asked What would hav e made Sarty to feel guilty to the situation? It may argued that a short period of time did occur in story when Sarty is actually an partner in execration to his fathers actions which he may freely done although with hesitation by running to the to place he was ordered to go and getting the fossil crude to be used by his father in setting the fire. Sarty did show loyalty to his father by obedience. Indeed, loyalty could be blind if it closes its eyes to the truth. Indeed blood is thicker than water but water is wider than blood as oceans contain all the water but blood stays only in lively animals.Sarty, in his seek for true identity, must now make a choice and he must choose fulfillment of moral duty over his duty to parents. Thus throughout Faulkners story Sarty was seeking his true identity. There was confusion caused by his fathers actions that had push him to question who he was. His feeling was temporary while his moral duty to tell the truth of his fathers actions was un iversal. Although it was his duty to be loyal to his blood and hate the men who were enemies of his father hates, there was a higher standard of which he must also respond.Thus in the storey it could be deciphered that after Sarty was afflicted by his father for almost telling the Justice of the Peace the truth about the fire and he was found expressing his confusion. He needed therefore to search for what was his true identity to find the solution to that confusion, What may have caused confusion was the fact that he was being struck by his father without any explanation. He was most of the time treated as young man. Sarty may be presumed not to have taught maturity by his father.His having to obey his father to get the oil to be used for burning was an imposition into his mind. It could only be Sartys own way of developing where he could assert himself that he ought to become a mature person in order to have courage to face the consequences of his decision. As Sarty was a young m an he could have been experiencing and asking the needed question of identity and knowing but not knowing enough. His feeling of the pressure to be what his father wanted him to be, although in his heart he knew that his father was wrong was something that must be resolved.In weighing things, he tried to find justification about his fathers behavior in order to be what he vox populi he should be by telling himself that his father was once a soldier, who deserves respect and honor him and this attempt included laborious to convince himself that his father was done with his criminal behaviors. But an instance happened where the landlord demanded twenty bushels of corn as payment for damages that his father had ruined and the book how Sarty thought about the matter Maybe this is the end of it.Maybe even that twenty bushels that seems hard to have to pay for just a rug will be a cheap price for him to stop forever and always from being what he used to bemaybe he wont discover the t wenty bushels His nature as person may have afforded Sarty capacity to mature. Attaining maturity is a natural phenomenon in ones life as one grows with age. For Sarty, it may be argued that he did in fact survive his sisterhood and was able to look back on it sensibly.From being a child he felt his father could not help but be what he was but nature has its own way and by the time that due date came to Sarty, he was aware of the truth of his fathers criminal behavior and which Faulkner has written the element of fire spoke to some deep mainspring of his fathers being, as the element of steel or of powder spoke to other men, as the one weapon for the preservation of integrity, else breath were not worth the breathing, and hence to be regarded with respect and used with discretion .This knowledge of what is wrong is a natural feeling and the mind appreciates without really thinking is predispose to avoid a rule. Interviewing a friend about whether he exerts effort of knowing what is right, the response was It is ones nature to avoid the wrong. There is time for everything. Everything that has started must come to an end. The dilemma that Sarty was suffering must come to an end. Sarty has now to make a decision.He is to make a choice between what is right or wrong. The signification to decide to practice a Sarty maturity did came the night of the final barn burning when Sarty made the decision on a subliminal level to reprimand the landlord of his fathers actions. It was also at that same night that night his father got killed and Sarty realized that he was set free it was therefore decision that he has done the right thing. His running to the flaming barn, he felt he was running through his childhood.With his screams, he suddenly became calm and clear headed to signal his freedom. It may be concluded the life may be a series of trade offs or great exchanges of what is important to individual persons life. There are issue of values which may not be seen bu t felt and asserted by their universalities. Independence is one of this values and its pursuit requires a moral agent to do what is right under the circumstance. Independence has however a price to pay and may extend to individuals love ones.Such was the story beautifully portrayed by Burning Barn. Works Cited Faulkner, The Faulkner Reader Selections from the Works of William Faulkner, Random House, 1954 Flexner and Flexner, Wise Words and Wives Tales The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored erudition of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New, Avon Books, New York, 1993 Hoffman, W. Blood is Thicker Than Water, Alien Perspective 2002 Personal interview with a friend conducted on what one feel about a given wrong in making a choice.