Barn Burning
Central Conflict:
Doe Season:
Protagonist, Andys struggle between wanting to belong to the mans world and
her impending entrance into her female identity
Barn Burning:
Protagonist, Sartoris (Sarty) must learn right from wrong while struggling with the need to be loyal to his father and loyal to the justice system.
Resolution of Central Conflict
Doe Season: Andy begins to accept her femininity and female identity. She no longer
goes by the androgynous name, Andy, but rather her birth given and extremely feminine
name Andrea.
Barn Burning: In the end Sartys loyalty is with that of the law and he finds solace in
this and never looks back.
Insight and Change Lead to Resolution
Doe Season:
Andys acceptance of her female identity and femininity comes about when she first is lining up her rifle to shoot the deer. She comments to herself, “It doesnt know, it just doesnt know” (375, 141). Andy is beginning to feel a feminine connection to the doe.
After Andy shoots the doe and the doe get away, the hunters eventually retreat to their tents where Andy conjures up a dream. In her dream the doe comes to the tent and allows Andy to touch her. Andy feels the does fur and gets to the gaping wound which she made. Andy puts her hand in far enough to feel the does still beating heart. The wound grows around Andys little arm forcing her to hold onto the now scorching heart. When Andys arm becomes free from the wound and the heart she cries out and places her hand in the snow to heal it. The doe calmly walks away from the situation. This represents Andys true connection with the doe. Andy inflicts pain upon another embodiment of the female nature. This really resonates with Andy and haunts her.
It at the climax where Andy truly decides to accept and make peace with her female identity that is unavoidable. The doe that Andy shot did not get far away and was found dead with a bit of a snow dusting on top of her. Andys father pulls out his knife, Mac whispers to Andy “Now watch this,” (378, 176), and he sliced through the doe from chest to belly to crotch.
Barn Burning:
Sartys father, Abner Snopes, is convicted and found guilty of burning his landlords barn down and the family is told to move out of the county.
When the Snopes family moves they acquire a new landlord, Mr. De Spain. Sarty believes this house stands for “peace and dignity” (230, 40), qualities he hopes his new life embody. Instead, however, his father