Crossing the Line in Faulkners Barn Burning Essay

Crossing the Line in Faulkners Barn Burning The American author Joyce Carol Oats, in her Master Race, wrote that our enemy is by tradition our savior (Oats 28). Oats recognized that we often learn more from our enemy than from ourselves. Whether the enemy is another warring nation, a more prolific writer, or even the person next door, we often can ascertain a tremendous amount of knowledge by studying that opposite party. In the same way, literature has always striven to provide an insight into human nature through a study of opposing forces. Often, simply by looking at the binary operations found in any given text, the texts meanings, both hidden and apparent, can become surprising clear. In William Faulkners famous short†¦show more content†¦Even though the family had moved twelve times in the eight years that the boy has been alive, they were once again on the move. The house that they finally arrive to is described as a paintless, two-room house that one of the daughters describes as aint fitten for hawg s (Faulkner 1557). Less than a page away, the farm-owners house is described with its honeysuckle and Cherokee roses that surround a gate that is between two brick pillars, with a portico and a hundred-dollar imported beige rug at the entrance (Faulkner 1558). This opposition between the poor and rich is substantially more important than the superficial may hint toward. This contrast is what drives the entire story. The Snopes family would not have been at the court in the very beginning if they had had enough money to pay for the impound fee for the return of the pig, as the father would not have had reason to burn the barn. Furthermore, if the family had enough money to replace the ruined carpet, the father would have not been fined and, at least in his mind, forced to attempt to destroy another barn. The second binary operation that takes place in the story is the society versus the outsider. In reality, this is simply a continuation of the rich (society) versus the poor (outsider) conflict. But, a new definition of the two terms allows the reader to have a new way to read the story. WithShow MoreRelatedLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesso you are open to adding new beliefs to your old beliefs. There are logical—that is, appropriate—ways of doing this, as well as illogical ones. The goal is to add truths, not falsehoods. For example, you are waiting in the grocery store checkout line and notice a magazine’s front-page headline, World War II Bomber Discovered Intact on Surface of Moon. You didnt know that, did you? Well, it wouldnt be logical to believe it. Why not? Here are three reasons: (1) Bombers cant fly to the