The story "Barn burning" seems just to be about a cruel father and a son who is in the grips of that cruelty. I think Faulkner discovers at least one important question in the story were he asks at what point should a person make a choice between what his parents and or family believes and his own values? The main character and protagonist in the story is a little boy named Colonel Sartoris. In this story, Sarty is faced with the decision of either going along with the views and actions of his morally challenged father or asserting his own morality and individuality by running away and leaving his family and his pain behind. The antagonist in the story is Abner Snobes. Abner Snobes is a angry and inconsiderate man who has hate for almost anybody who is not "blood-kin", and he portrays that hatred and contempt throughout the story. .
This story follows the typical format and is narrated in the third person. In the show, Faulkner's skill as a writer is demonstrated through the way that he uses detail to draw the readers into the story. Also, in the first paragraph we are introduced to the main character and protagonist in the story, Sarty. The setting in which Sarty's conflict is established is a trial. In the trial, the justice asks Sarty, " I reckon any boy named for Colonel Sartoris in this country can't help but tell the truth, can they" (pg. 154)? This is the part of the story in which the readers can first get a sense of the moral dilemma that Faulkner is trying to portray in this story. Next, we are introduced to the antagonist, Abner Snobes, when he talks for the first time since the trial began. He also establishes the fact that he plans to move himself and his family out of town. We are then introduced to the rest of Sarty's family. .
The inciting force takes place after Sarty and his family move to a house owned by a man named De Spain, under the assumption that they will cultivate De Spain's farm and give him a portion of the crop.