The Primary Theme of William Faulkner’s BARN Burning

The Primary Theme of William Faulkner’s “BARN Burning.”
Name:
Instructor:
Course:
Date:
The primary theme of William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning.”
The primary theme of Faulkner's work, “Barn Burning” is Family loyalty against loyalty to the rule of law. Sartoris faces a dilemma on whether to be loyal to the rule of the land or the family. For his family, precisely the father, family loyalty comes before any other thing. Apparently, the family is detached with the law and the society. Besides, their moral standards are dependent of the loyalty to the family and not the common doctrine of the “right or wrong.” This is seen at the point where Sartoris is threatened by the father to either remain faithful to his family or face isolation. The threat by Snopes is an unequivocal expression of the level of seclusion which the Snopes family lives. It also reflects how they rely on mutual faith and trust from each other for protection, including times when their loyalty is baseless (Gale, C. L., 2016).
“Blood” is the term Snopes uses to describe the family. It is a clear definition of the magnitude of how he relates the family relationship and faith in this context. The perfect instance is when a local boy alleges that Snopes is a barn burner on their way out of the courtroom. Sartoris turns around to challenge the boy - who hits his face by blood. The blood dry on Sartoris face as they get out of the town. This is somewhat an indication of pride – Sartoris remained loyal to and defended the family. In spite of all these events, Snopes once more intends to burn a barn. His son acknowled...