In the story Barn Burning, Abner, who is the father of Sarty, is portrayed as more of a “thing” than a human. This is because humans have emotions, feelings, and forms of mercy. However the author does not give portray as Abner being a human being emotionally. The author always describes Abner in the forms of metal such as tin and iron, and describes his hands as claws. These images give off the picture of something that is anything but human. Still he feels the obvious emotion of hatred, which leads his destructiveness, but it seems to have overwhelmed every other emotion. Throughout the story he abuses his family with no regret or hesitation, meaning he doesn't feel the smallest amount of sorrow as a normal human would. This makes his image darken just as his personality is, almost to an evil or corrupt level.
The diction that describes Abner is sophisticated and mean. Abner is describes as very precise, from him walking to how he conducts fires, so much that the author describes him being similar to a clock, which is a tool that exemplifies precision. The way by which he manipulated his son is an example of sophistication, while the tone and ways he talks to people is an example of how he is mean.
The obvious symbols from the story are the burnings or acts of destruction Abner commits. Abner does this because he fought in the Civil War, became traumatized during it, and came back to work alongside the slave he risked his life to keep under him. This makes him hateful towards the social class system because he doesn’t want to be owned as slaves are. The fire is a symbol of revolt against the people who are better off than him or who boss him. Yet the fire is also a symbol of him having control because there are not many things in his life that he does control.
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