Character Study on Sarty in William Faulkner's "Barn Burning".

In William Faulkner's 1939 short story "Barn Burning", Sarty is a young boy who is at the mercy of his overbearing father Abner. Sarty is oppressed, naive and has a strong sense of right and wrong. Abner is a poor man who gets his revenge on anyone who he believes has cheated him is some way. His revenge is barn burning. Sarty knows that this is wrong and struggles with the realities of life. If he …

…Barn!" Sarty then takes off running. That night Sarty took the first step to becoming the man he wants to be, not the man his father was trying to mold him into. He made a conscience choice to leave his family behind, not knowing what lies ahead but knowing he can live with whatever comes along. He is free. He is free from his father, free from his struggles of conscience, he is finally free.