“Barn Burning” is a story that revolves majorly between a father and a son. Snopes tends to burn his landlord’s barns down, and the son had to testify in court. Having to choose between staying true to oneself and betraying the person one cares about is one of the hardest decisions one can ever make. Sarty, who was the son of Snopes, was caught in a dilemma. The story involves many symbols that signify different items. The symbols include the fire, spring, and the blood. These and many other symbols reveal Snopes’ different characteristics and how he deals with those around him, especially the son.
The primary and most important symbol is fire, which is repeatedly used by the narrator to signify different Snopes’ personalities. The first fire that had a significant symbolism was the one that he built when the family was camping before they arrived at de Spain place. The story describes the fire similarly to the fires he built while camping that were “neat, niggard almost, shred” (Faulkner et al. 27). “Niggard” means the unwillingness to spend, while “shrewd” is used to show the fire was anticipated to scorch for long with little wood being used. The narrator reveals that the fire symbolizes a weapon for preserving Snopes integrity, which makes him to be regarded with respect in the story.
Without the fire, Abner would feel less useful since the fire gives him a sense of power. Fire becomes the only thing that Snopes can control in his life. Regardless of the size of fire he builds, the small and the large ones, Abner always feels as if he is in command. Snopes always hits his son and mules “without heat” (Faulkner et al. 21), which means that he does not hit out of solid and burning emotion. His hitting and the way he builds his fire signifies that he does those activities calculatedly and for a reason and renders those around him powerless.
The blood is another symbol in the story, and focuses on relatives sharing blood. In the beginning, while in a store, Sarty smells some food and compares it to “the old fierce pull of blood” (Faulkner et al. 2). The first mentioning of Abner follows shortly in the story, Sarty is clearly referring to his blood relationship with his farther. In the beginning, he believes that blood bond is essential, although after Snopes makes these remarks, “you’ve got to learn to stick to your blood or you aren’t going to have any blood to stick to” (Faulkner et al. 29), something within him changes. Snopes further threatens his son with abandonment, and Sarty feels as if the bond is one-sided with his father. Twenty years later, Santry travels back in a memory he had shared with his father, and this explains more on the blood bond.
Finally, spring is the last symbol that is mostly used in the setting of the story and signifies hopefulness. Spring generally signifies renewal and rebirth, and when Sarty is on the hill, this seems to be the only moment he has had peace for quite some time. Eventually springtime is introduced to Santry and the reader, and the realization of spring comes with the freedom for Santry to make his own decisions. After six harsh days, his father is no longer in his life, which gives him relief.
Abner is seen as a person who likes to feel powerful by making others feel powerless, and this gives him satisfaction. He is also seen as a mean person who would not mind compromising the bond they have as a family. Santry is finally relieved and believes that his father will not blackmail or threaten him again, although he is sad about losing his family. The three symbols play a significant role in explaining what happens at each stage of the story.
Work Cited
Faulkner, William, et al. Barn burning. Learning in Focus, 1979.