I'm not certain as to what I'm supposed to post about, but I picked this:"Barn Burning" follows the account of Colonel Sartoris Snopes and his family as they struggle with his father's pyromania and deep hatred for people. The decision Sartoris must make between lying for his father or being honest creates a powerful inner conflict within him. His internal monologue, italicized within the text, reveals much about the character as he struggles with this decision.
What are some examples of Sartoris' internal monologue and how do they relate to the story's theme?
13 comments:
The most obvious examples of the boy's conflicting inner dialogue occur when he's asked to testify against his father: " 'He aims for me to lie', he thought, again with that frantic grief and despair. 'And I will have to do hit.'" The boy knows that he must tell the truth, but is reluctant to betray his father. The story deals with the boy going back and forth on how to deal with the issues his father creates, so this is the first instance of that theme.
Ray,
Just wanted to say that I love your question! Great lead in with a very meaningful aspect of the structure of the story. Okay, everyone, do this question justice!!
The boy's internal monologue foreshadows the choices the boy will soon make: "I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again" (508). Like Yousra commented, it also reveals the conflicts in his life: "Only I can't. I can't" (508). But more than that, it reveals his true character...his dreams to do right and escape despite the societal expectations and familial loyalties that bind him to his father. Eventually the boy's true nature, his personal "internal monologue", and his own Jiminy Cricket win the battle when the he flees his family.
-Diana Heriford
The responses are great so far! I love the use of direct quotes to strengthen the discussion on Sartoris's thoughts. Feel free to keep discussing the initial question, but I have some additional thoughts to throw out there.
In light of the recent lecture on Freud, how can we apply psychoanalytic theory to Sartoris's internal monologue and how does this also relate to the theme?
Oooh, Gary! Way to be introspective and make our class think! I love it! Anywho, Sarty's internal monologues, which are typically short little blurbs, (just a fun fact) are what Freud built the basis for his psychoanalytic theory. Sarty is mainly driven by conflict. The conflicting feelings he experiences regarding his father's arson habit are the forces that drive his superego. Sarty's monologues in the beginning of the story are troubled, but they remain hopeful. When Sarty shows hope that "maybe this will be the end of it...maybe it will all add up and balance and vanish-corn, rug, fire; the terror and grief; the being pulled two ways like between two teams of horses-gone, done with for ever and ever" (506). This moment of introspection shows Sarty's naieve hope that his father will see the error or his ways and essnetially change. He mentions the struggle he feels dealing with what is morally right, and his loyalty to the family. In reference to family loyalty, blood is used as both a literal and metaphorical form of imagery. Sarty's father sees blood as a bond-the bond of family, and camraderie. However, Sarty views blood in terms of the pain his father has caused, both in his own life and in the lives of others. Mr. Snopes' use of blood as a means to have Sarty more drawn to him fails because the two characters view blood in two very distinct ways.
Sarty's final introspection in reference to his father is extremely powerful and is an allusion. When he thinks: "Father. My Father" (510). he sees his father as a fallen figure. In Walt Whitman's elegy, "Oh, Captain. My Captain," Whitman pays homage to a fallen figurehead, Abraham Lincoln. Sarty's portrayal of this historical elegy shows that he saw his father as a distinct figurehead in his life. Sarty's father should have been someone he could look up to- someone that he wanted to be. Instead, Sarty most detested his father and swore to never be like him. The allusion to this elegy shows Sarty's internal need for his father to be a strong figure in his life, and Sarty's despair that he is not, and he has still fallen. Sarty feels liberated since he is free from his father; however, just as in Whitman's elegy, there are "exaultant bells" for Snopes' death, but there is still much pain.
His innerstruggle relates to Freud's psychoanalytic theory because the father is caught inbetween the Superego and the Id. His Superego - the moral code and the rules society expects him to follow (not burning houses, being a role model for his children, setting the right example)- is losing the battle against the Id. The father seems to lose his ability to distinguish the difference between right and wrong throughout the story. He stops following society's rules of conduct and it is then that he gives in to his Id. Throughout the story as the Id is becoming the stronger part of his personality, the boy is losing respect for his father. In the end, the boy's decision to leave without looking back is really his realization that the father's mental state has become unstable and the Id has become the stronger part.
Haha, Yousra stole the quote I wanted to use. Well, I'd like to use the same quote to answer Gary's question.
During the courtroom, Sarty realizes that his father "aims for [him] to lie," and he "will have to do it." He was perfectly aware that his father DID burn the house down, but he was going to follow his super-ego and do the socially acceptable thing by not betraying his father. You may think that this would conflict with the social-notion of not lying, but remember that Sarty's "society" was his family - he did not have access to any other values or beliefs, and his father raised him to view loyalty as the highest good. Therefore, Sarty's superego would have been biased.
The most influential event in Sarty's choice to abandon his family is when Abner beats Sarty because he apparently Sarty was "fixing to tell them." This is ironic because we know that Sarty was prepared to lie for his father. There is nothing more debilitating to a child than to be punished for something they didn't do. In Sarty's mind, he would now have no reason to be loyal to his father, because clearly his father would punish him for disloyalty even when Sarty was loyal. This was the greatest wedge between the two, and was the main cause of Sarty's alienation with Abner.
The mental illness that Sartoris suffers from could be a repetitious, dysfunctional, self-destructive psychosis. His psyche itself relies upon his family, as the agricultural environment's ethics are based around the family. His father is abusive, but since the society he lives in requires that he stick with his family he must repress the negative thoughts he has of his father's beatings. He actively represses these thoughts when he describes his father's actions as "without heat" with a resigned, almost positive tone (500). The unconscious suppression of memories is a key component to Freud's theory.
Satoris struggles with man versus himself. Ironically enough society enters the equation as the issue the boy is trying to resolve in his mind calls for either the safety of his community or the value of loyalty to his family demanded by the same existing society. The break down of the issue occurs as his father sickness makes it more apparent to the boy through the psychoanalytic role the father is supposed to take in the family towards the son, and psychoanalytic "ego" to perform the correct, moral action. The "ego" pull eventually wins the boy over, as he exposes his father. However, though Faulkner does not go into any depth involving responsibility as a result of the father's exposure, the freedom felt by the boy begins the foundation for healing and growth into the community Satoris has protected. The guilt caused by the possible feeling of "betrayal" will hinder this healing process and may prevent the boy from every being able to function as a capable, stable human being. He may not be able to contribute to the goodness of society yet he has protected it from the evils of his father. This is an example of the Psychoanalytic base of "ego" which includes the subconscious difference between right and wrong. Since Satoris chose to expose his father, he knew the basic concept of good even though he was raised believing his father's next victim was "his enemy."
The theme of man vs. himself can be applied to both Sartoris and Mr. Snopes. Sartoris is a mentally torn character throughout the short story, stuck between the decision of either defending his father or escaping from his family's extremist nature. While Mr. Snopes is also struggling to find middle ground between being a good father figure, but also maintaining respect and leadership in his family's deep "blood" ties, thus, forcing the psych of both characters to fight between the Id and the Superego. In the conclusion it is apparent that Sartoris is overtaken by his socially pleasing Superego, while his father subjected himself to his Id.
Great responses thus far! Both Ray and Gary's posts were pertaining to Barn Burning, so i'm gonna switch directions with a question pertaining to Faulkner's A Rose for Emily.
Typically a rose has been a symbol of a secret. Obviously, Emily's secret is an important aspect of the story. Analyze the ways other ways in which Faulkner employs symbology in A Rose for Emily or explain how, looking back, Emily's secret affects Emily and the people around her like the her servant, etc.
I posted this on the 23rd, but I guess it didn't go through so I will post it again.
When Emily murdered Homer,it was to gain the final laugh at the town that scrutinized and judged her, but never understood why she was as weird as she was. Another reason for the murder of Homer was to show the town that even though she could not persuade him to marry her, she could still control him because he was dead. No one would be able to take her secret love for Homer away. As a result, Emily is humanized even more and it helps explain the years of submissiveness at the whim of her father.
Yousra, way to go with getting everything started!Yes, Diana, the boy does win out to his righteously angled inner voice. Gary, thanks for throwing in some additional "food for thought" with discussing psychoanalytic theory!Lizzie - wow! You have a paper here and a very keen understanding of Freud. Yes, Faulkner's use of these internal monologues allow us to see every nuance of the character. Brilliant reference to Whitman's poem - one of my favorites!! Emily, very true that the father is caught between the Superego and the ID. Interested assessment, David, of the dynamics between Sarty and his dad. Hunter, good point about the unconscious suppression of memories. Grace, good idea of bringing in conflict of man vs. himself! Mary, very thorough! I love the point about the father's next enemy not really being the "true" enemy. Keely - effective redirect!
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