barn burning by William Faulkner

The Theme of Justice in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning
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The central theme in the William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” is the justice. The Snopes family fends its livelihood from working for others. Abner Snopes tries to be independent; he considers working for other men as an injustice done to him. We question the kind of justice that Mr. Abner Snopes is fighting for. Abner is defiant to rules and regulations of others since he considers them as injustices which deny him his freedom and independence. Abner at times appeals to the court to find justice and at the same time refuses to play along with the court rules if he feels unsatisfied with the ruling. Abner’s son Sarty tries to understand what justice is by looking into the life of his father and other people around him including the court. Sarty has appeared in court several times to either defend his father or be a witness for his father, an experience that has made him try to understand justice at a very young age of ten (Faulkner, Starring & Diane 1979).
In some instances, Abner has sued people in the court of law to find justice, and he has also been sued, if the judgment fails to favor him, Abner disregards court instruction and tries to punish the people whom he feels has offended him to find justice. Sarty understands justice much better than his father and brother. Sarty has learned that the verdict may look unfair, but due to its independence, it functions well and with a reasonable logic to attain justice.

As Abner continues to break the laws and justifies himself, Sarty tries to understand justice and is confused on whether to support his father or support that which is right. When reading the story, the reader tends to ask himself what makes justice, is justice fair or unfair? Is Abner justified in destroying other people’s property with an intention to serve himself justice? Is the court correct in sending Mr. Abner and his family out of the city? Is Mr. Abner just to his family? All these questions are addressed in the following paragraph (Faulkner, Starring & Diane 1979).
It is clear that justice is an accepted way of addressing the offenses committed in the society of Mr. Abner. We can see it demonstrated when Mr. Harris seeks justice from the court when his barn is burned down by Mr. Abner. We can also see it when Mr. Abner takes Major de Spain to court seeking justice. The court gives different charges to both parties where appropriate, for example, the court rules that Mr. Abner should pay 20 bushels of corn for the destroyed rug. Mr. Abner is unjust to his family and his society. Burning the barn of other people is not the right way to dispensing justice. Given that there are courts within Mr. Abner society, Mr. Abner must always go to court when he feels offended. Mr. Abner is causing more harm to himself and his family through his action. The complexities of the kind of justice in this story is solved when the court, which is independent orders Mr. Abner and his family to move out of the city. It is the only means by which Mr. Abner can be stopped since he doesn’t listen to anyone including the court. Mr. Abner cannot be allowed to continue defying the courts and committing injustices to others (Comprone, 1982).

References
Faulkner, W., & Starring tommy Lee Jones & Diane Keegan. (1979). Barn burning (pp. 500-13). Learning in Focus.
Comprone, J. (1982). Literature and the Writing Process: A Pedagogical Reading of William Faulkner’s” Barn Burning”. College Literature, 9(1), 1-21.