The main theme that I observed in “Barn Burning” that I though would be relevant for response was the otherness of Sarty. For all his young life Sarty has had the concept of blood loyalty beaten into him by his father. Abner tell young Sarty, “You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you.” This meaning that in Abner’s eyes if you don’t back up your family then who is going to back you up when the times get rough? After Abner’s last barn burning escapade Sarty must choose between following what his father has always told him and be loyal to his family or be loyal to what he knows in his heart and conscience to be right. Talk about a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. If Sarty were to tell the truth he would certainly become alienated from his family and have nowhere to go, but if he did not he would have the blood of innocent people on his hands.
What I found interesting was the contradictive......
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