Barn Burning Point Of View Analysis

Register to read the introduction… One theme in particular is the theme of Sarty’s search for peace. Relating back to the courtroom case, Sarty is loyal to his father. His loyalty to his father brings only violence within his family and conflict within himself. Sarty finds no escape from the vicious environment he is surrounded in until they arrive at Major de Spain’s house. At this point the point of view shifts in and out between Sarty’s thoughts and the narrator. “Hit’s big as a courthouse he thought quietly; with a surge of peace and joy…They are safe from him. People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are beyond his touch…the spell of this peace and dignity rendering even the barns and stable and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive…Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he couldn’t help but be. ” (Faulkner 159). Sarty believes at this point he will find peace at last, he has escaped violence, and that his father will change. He believes his father will see that the house is too magnificent to destroy. However, the size of the house does not faze his father. Only a few moments later Abner purposely steps in horse manure, walks into the house, and soils an expensive rug. Faulkner’s use of point of …show more content…
Point of view helps the reader to learn who the characters are and the reasons behind their actions, provides a better insight to the themes of the story, and supports plot development. Without the unique use of point of view it would be very difficult to understand the story because "the narrator can do for Sarty what the young Sarty cannot: he understands Abner's anti-social behavior, his anger...can tell the truth about Abner's fires..." (Yunis 6). The use of point of view in this intricate form provides deeper insight to the story as a