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Kylan Davis
Mrs. Sieger
ENG 102
26 February 2021
Family or Morals
In the short story Barn Burning, Sartoris must decide whether loyalty to family or
loyalty to the law is morally necessary. For the Snopes family, especially or Sartoris' father,
family loyalty is valued above all. The family seems to exist outside of society and outside the
law. The moral code is based on family loyalty to the principle of traditional beliefs about what
is right and what is wrong. Snopes tells Sartoris to stay loyal to his "blood" or his family, or he
will be alone. He who is threatened or independent of a family is really or entirely dependent on
others to protect himself, even if his protection in this protection is unfounded. Blood also
appears literally, emphasizing the intensity of family ties. For example, when the Snopes leave or
improvise court at the beginning of the story, a local boy accuses Snopes of being a barn burner,
and when Sartoris turns to him, either the boy hits Sartoris and shows his face with flower. Oh,
