Barn Burning

Faulkner uses repetition in “Barn Burning” to emphasize key themes such as inheritance, loyalty, and violence. There are several words Sartoris uses to describe his feelings about his father’s violent behavior, such as “grief,” “despair,” “terror,” “old blood,” and “fear.” Faulkner’s repetition of these words and phrases serves to enhance the story’s thematic focus. “Blood” or loyalty to family is the central theme of the work, and Sartoris’s constant feelings of “despair,” “grief,” “terror,” and “fear” provide an emotional framework for the narrative, which allows the reader to feel Sartoris’s conflict more acutely.

Faulkner employs irony in multiple fashions and instances in “Barn Burning,” but the most obvious comes in the dramatic irony that underpins the main action. It is obvious from the start of the narrative that Sartoris is conflicted about his father’s acts of revenge. In the opening scene, Sartoris wants to tell the truth about his father’s actions, but his love for and fear of Snopes complicate his sense of right and wrong. Faulkner’s focus on Sartoris’s internal conflict gives “Barn Burning” tension and dramatic irony because Sartoris is not as aware as the reader of the choice that looms before him; it is obvious to the reader that Sartoris will likely have to choose between his loyalty to his father and his desire for justice, whether Sartoris wants to make the choice or not.