Conflicting Principles of Life in William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”

William Faulkners Barn Burning presents the conflict between two forms of umpire (1) justice based on kinship and (2) justice based on hu objet dart dignity. The conflict between these two forms of justice was presented within the text through Sartys perspective of Abs actions who sought to achieve freedom from his previous agreements by defiling the ripes of other individuals. Set after the period of the Civil War, the text presents Sartys conflicts as he tried to understand his fathers motivations for the actions that have lead his family to further hardships in life.It is important to note that Ab, Sartys father, has a led a life geared towards self-fulfillment as his actions throughout his life have been motivated by his desire to attain material wealthiness. Note for exemplar that even if Ab was considered as a soldier in the fine, old, European sense, of the term, his motivations for choosing to join in the battle was incomplete to save the South from the Northern impact nor to protect his regions views regarding slavery (Faulkner 1743). This is apparent if one considers that as Ab and Sarty reached the De Spain mansion, Ab ironically tells his son, Pretty and white, aint it.Thats spade sweat. Maybe it aint white enough yet to suit him. Maybe he wants to mix some white sweat with it (Faulkner 1737). This affirmation was neither motivated by Abs disgust for slavery nor by his disgust in the African Americans position in life. His statement was motivated by his sense of outrage against the wealth and power symbolized by the plantation. His outrage statement was thereby meant to be a bitter view against the wealth and power that he could not achieve in life.The conflict, within the text, thereby arises as a provide of Sartys inability to understand his fathers motivations and reasons for his actions. As was mentioned above, his father chose to defile another individuals rights in regulate to free himself from his obligations. This is apparent as h is father burned the barn of the man who has slighted him. Sarty recognizes the harm that was inflicted upon his father however he does not consider this a sufficient reason to defile the right of another individual.As a result of this, he was placed in a position where he will either amend the harm inflicted on the other individual in order to protect his father and thereby maintain his loyalty to his family or he will refuse knowledge of his fathers actions thereby allowing his fathers misdeed but enabling justice for the other individual. The conflict is thereby defined by the necessity to choose, on Sartys part, what he considers to be the right decision within the text.