In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”, there is a boy named Sarty who is having trouble making a decision. Sarty’s father, Abner, is prone to committing crime and Sarty has had to defend his father plenty of times. Sarty is getting tired of lying for his father, but he does not want to lose his family. Sarty’s internal conflict is whether to tell the truth or to be loyal to his father. Sarty wants to tell the truth, but he is afraid of the consequences he will suffer from Abner. For example, when Abner found out that Sarty was going to tell the court the truth about the barn burning, Abner slapped Sarty. Faulkner says, “His father stuck him with the flat of his hand on the side of the head, hard but without heat”. Abner hit Sarty because Sarty
