Colonel Sartoris is Abner Snopes ten-year-old son. The boy is described early on in the story as a “wiry, gray eyed” boy with “faded jeans.” Sarty is on the verge of becoming a young man and struggles to find his own personal moral stand on life throughout the story. It is evident that Sarty believes in the laws of soviety and wants to do good rather than wrong, but his father’s influence weighs heavily upon him as the “family’s loyalty” is superior to anything else in the world.
Faulkner describes Sarty as though the boy was ill. He uses the words “grief,” “despair,” and “fear.” Sartoris knows something is not right about his life. He knows his family does not function in accordance with the rest of society. Throughout the story, Sarty craves a different life, a peaceful life that does not seem so backwards. His father puts an immense amount of pressure on the boy to keep quiet about his arsonist activities. Sartoris defends his father in the beginning of the story; however, as the plot progresses, the boy tires of the life he has been forced to live and decides that “family loyalty” is not as important as his personal self conscious and its distinction between right and wrong.
The author does an excellent job of describing Sartoris’ thought process as he goes into great depth when establishing the character. Sarty’s mixed emotions demonstrate his struggles. The solemn feeling of calm as he passes the de Spain’s house indicates the boys longing for home stability and peace. Sartoris finds a peace at the conclusion of the story, but not a perfect peace like the one he felt at the de Spain house. The boy never loses his grief but he does break free from the fear of his father and the instability of his household. Sarty “…did not look back” after running away from his old life, and the peace he feels at the end is the promise of a new one.
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