The Importance of Literary Elements in Barn Burning
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The Importance of Literary Elements in Barn Burning
Understanding literary elements such as patterns, reader/writer relationships, and character choice are critical in appreciating William Faulkners Barn Burning. Some literary elements are small and almost inconsequential while others are large and all-encompassing: the mothers broken clock, a small and seemingly insignificant object, is used so carefully, extracting the maximum effect; the subtle, but more frequent use of dialectal words which contain darker, secondary meanings; the way blood is used throughout the story in many different ways, including several direct references in the familial sense; how Faulkner chooses to write about poor, common people (in fact to the extreme) and how this relates to the opinions of Wordsworth and Aristotle; and finally, the relationship between the reader and writer, Faulkners choice of narrator and point of view, and how this is works successfully.
One of the formal choices Faulkner uses is the clock, the dowry of Sartys mother, which does not work. On a simple level, the clock represents the Snopes poverty, being all her parents could offer the newlyweds, and the only fancy object ever mentioned in the Snopes possession. More important, however, is that it does not work-symbolizing the brokenness of their relationship and her happiness. To obtain the maximum effect, Faulkner mentions the mothers unhappiness directly after the clock:
the clock inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which would not run, stopped at some fourteen minutes past two oclock of a dead and forgotten time, which had been his mothers dowry. She was crying….(Faulkner 4)
Her unhappiness is justified in the story by Abners treatment of his wife. He is cold and gives her orders, not to mention her feeling of hopelessness and despair about their way of life and his habit with fire.
One very interesting, and questionably deliberate, use of words by Faulkner is the substitution of “hit” for “it” and, although less frequent, “kin” for “can.” These are clearly used to communicate the characters southern drawl, but he way Faulkner chooses to place these substitutions in sentences communicates the possibility of the substituted words actual meanings. For example, in this dialog between Sarty and his mother, just after he is hit and knocked down by a boy outside the courthouse, the word “hit” can be taken in two ways.
“His mothers hand touched his shoulder. Does hit hurt?” she said.
Naw, he said. Hit dont hurt. Lemme be.
Cant you wipe some of the blood off before hit dries?(Faulkner 5)”
Of course, Faulkner makes sure to incorporate other accented words like “Naw” and “Lemme” to make the use of “hit” more justifiable. In another example, Sarty uses both “hit” and “kin,” just after Sartys father is informed of the consequences of ruining the rug:
“If he wanted hit done different why didnt he wait and tell you how? He wont git no twenty bushels! He wont git none! Well get hit and hide it! I kin watch…(Faulkner 16)”
The last two sentences particularly make use of the words dual meanings. “Well get hit and hide it” can be taken with full meaning both ways. The Snopes will once more get “hit” with the responsibility of Abners actions. The family will once again have to hide this fact by leaving town and never returning. The “I kin watch” is a fragment, as Sarty is cut off by his father. Considering what he might have said were he allowed to finish his sentence, the double meaning of “kin” shows Sartys pull towards imitating his fathers example, exemplifying the struggle between blood and his virtuous character.
It is Sartys flawed blood line from which he imminently escapes. Blood, in the familial sense, is consequently a major theme in this story. To further clarify Sartys dilemma, the author often juxtaposes blood with the words fear, despair, and grief to illustrate what Sartys blood has brought him. In the very first paragraph, he senses “fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of blood.” Shortly after, we hear his thoughts as he sits in front of the judge and his fathers enemy, “(our enemy he thought in that despair; ourn! mine and hisn both! Hes my father!)(Faulkner 1)” This “fierce pull of blood,” contrasting with his own belief in truth and justice (described later as “being pulled two ways like between two teams of horses(Faulkner 17)”), sets the tone and theme of the story, and is what Sarty finally breaks by running away. This is repeated virtually word-for-word, offering more emphasis and greater effect, when Sarty sits at the stand in the courthouse and hears their voices “through the smell of cheese and sealed meat, the fear and despair and the old grief of blood.(Faulkner 3)” Faulkner incorporates blood again when Sartys mother asks him to wipe the blood off his face before it dries. Sartys father “had in his blood an inherent voracious prodigality with material not his own, (Faulkner 6)” and advises his son, “learn