Barn-Burning

BarnBurningWilliamFaulknerBirth:Sep.25,1897NewAlbanyUnionCountyMississippi,Death:Jul.6,1962ByhaliaMarshallCountyMississippi,EstelleOldhaminthe1913yearbookOleMissGenresSouthernGothicLiterarymovementModernism,streamofconsciousnessNotablework(s)TheSoundandtheFury(1929),AsILayDying在我弥留之际(1930),LightinAugust(1932),Absalom,Absalom!(1936),andTheUnvanquished(1938);mostacclaimed(andmostfrequentlyanthologized)stories,includingARoseforEmily,RedLeaves,ThatEveningSun,andDrySeptember.awardedthe1949NobelPrizeinLiteratureforhispowerfulandartisticallyuniquecontributiontothemodernAmericannovel.donatedhalftheprizemoneytoafundthatsupportsnewwritersregardedasoneofthemostinfluentialwritersofthetwentiethcenturyknownforanexperimentalstylewithmeticulousattentiontodictionandcadence.IncontrasttotheminimalistunderstatementofhispeerErnestHemingway,Faulknermadefrequentuseofstreamofconsciousnessinhiswriting,andwroteoftenhighlyemotional,subtle,cerebral/intelligent,complex,andsometimesGothicorgrotesquestoriesofawidevarietyofcharacters—rangingfromformerslavesordescendentsofslaves,topoorwhite,agrarian,orworking-classSoutherners,toSouthernaristocrats.AllhismajorworksfirmlyrootedinthefictionalMississippicountyofYoknapatawpha.Bycreatinganimaginarysetting,FaulknerallowshischaracterstoinhabitafullyrealizedworldthatservesasamirrortoandmicrocosmoftheSouththatthenovelistknewsowellandexploredsodeeply.MostofhisworkssetinhisnativestateofMississippioneofthemostimportantSouthernwriters,alongwithMarkTwain,TennesseeWilliamshisworkpublishedregularlyfromthemid1920stothelate1940s,relativelyunknownbeforereceivingtheNobelPrizeinLiteraturein1949.widelyseenasamongthegreatestAmericanwritersofalltime.Faulkner'sfameandacclaimstemfromhisnovels,novellas,andshortstories.apublishedpoetandasometimescreenwriteraswell.OnwritingLetthewritertakeupsurgeryorbricklayingifheisinterestedintechnique.Thereisnomechanicalwaytogetthewritingdone,noshortcut.Theyoungwriterwouldbeafooltofollowatheory.Teachyourselfbyyourownmistakes;peoplelearnonlybyerror.Thegoodartistbelievesthatnobodyisgoodenoughtogivehimadvice.Hehassupremevanity.Nomatterhowmuchheadmirestheoldwriter,hewantstobeathim“---W.F.ThepresencealoneofFaulknerinourmidstmakesagreatdifferenceinwhatthewritercanandcannotpermithimselftodo.NobodywantshismuleandwagonstalledonthesametracktheDixieLimitedisroaringdown.“----FlanneryO'ConnorinaninterviewwithTheParisReviewin1956IntroductiontoandSummaryofBarnBurningFaulknerwasparticularlyinterestedinthemoralimplicationsofhistory.AstheSouthemergedfromtheCivilWarandReconstructionandattemptedtoshakeoffthestigmaofslavery,itsresidentswereoftenportrayedasbeingcaughtincompetingandevolvingmodes,tornbetweenanewandanolder,moretenaciously(doggedpersistence;stubborn)rootedworldorder.Religionandpoliticsfrequentlyfellshortoftheirimpliedgoalsofprovidingorderandguidanceandservedonlytocomplicateanddivide.Society,withitsgossip,judgment,andharshpronouncements,conspiredtothwartthedesiresandambitionsofindividualsstrugglingtounearthandembracetheiridentities.AcrossFaulkner’sfictivelandscapes,individualcharactersoftenstageepicstruggles,preventedfromrealizingtheirpotentialorestablishingandassertingafirmsenseoftheirplaceintheworld.“BarnBurning,”initsexaminationofaboy’sstrugglewithfamilyloyaltyandahighersenseofjustice,fitsfirmlyinFaulkner’sfamiliarfictionalmode.Povertyandirrational,criminalbehaviordivideafamilyand,intheend,leavethemmoreindigent(poverty-stricken;needy;impoverrished)anddependentthanever.ThestoryfirstappearedintheJune1939issueofHarper’smagazineandreceivedtheO.HenryAwardfortheyear’sbestworkofshortfiction.Thestory,acriticalandpopularfavorite,wasincludedinFaulkner’sCollectedStories(1950)andlaterreprintedintheSelectedShortStoriesofWilliamFaulkner(1961).InhisportrayaloftheSnopesclan,anunderprivilegedfamilywithfeweconomicprospects,Faulknerexaminesthedeep-rootedclassismandsystemsthatrigidlydividedsouthernsocietyalongracial,economic,andfamiliallines.TheSnopesesandtheirstruggle,inparticular,symbolizethefallingawayofanoldorder,astheagrarianSouthslowlyshiftedtoembraceaneweraofindustrializationandmodernization.AlthoughFaulkner’smercilessportrayalofAbnerSnopesprecludesanysympathyforhispeculiarbrandofvigilantejustice,theharshrealitythefamilyfacedwaslittlemorethaninstitutionalizedslaveryandalifesentenceofpovertyandsubsistenceliving.AbnerSnopesrepresentsacommontrope(image;irony)inFaulkner’sfiction—thedispossessedmale,shorn(deprived)ofpowerandlashingoutataworldthatheperceivesashabituallywronginghimandthwartinghisfelonious(criminal;illegal)desires.Faulknerexaminestheswaythatsuchmenacingfigureshaveoverfamilyandcommunitybyportrayingtheindividualscaughtupintheshadowsofthesesavagepersonalities,individualswhoarepowerlessandoftenculpable(guilty;blameable).FreedomcomesonlyforSartoris,theyoungestSnopesboy,but,asisfrequentlythecaseinFaulkner’sworks,emancipationcomesataprice.Sartorishasdefendedhissenseofhonorandattemptedtorestorethefamilyname,butheultimatelyfacesanuncertainfuturealone.CharactersColone