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Barn Burning by William Faulkner is a short story told through the eyes of Sartoris Snopes, who is the ten-year-old son of the rebellious Abner Snopes. Throughout the story, “Sarty” is faced with a harsh choice; either he strictly relies on his father for guidance, or he molds his own future by surpassing his father’s estranged ways. Sarty is clearly able to differentiate between right and wrong, but will he witness his father’s wrong doings and stand up for himself? As a round character, Sarty allows three of his father’s actions to help him realize that he does not want to be like his father: a burned barn, a ruined rug, and a second attempt to burn a barn. Early on in the story, Sarty finds himself sitting in the presence of the Justice wanting to defend his father even though he knew his father had burned their landlord’s barn out of rebellion for the pig incident. The question is: Why would Sarty defend his father for something he knew his father did? Clearly Sarty was too young to go against his father. Young children do not have much authority over their parents; therefore, he could not tell on his father without being punished. Sarty was