Madison Allen
Dr. Maureen Ryan, Dr. Alexandra Valint, Dr. Luis A. Iglesias
ENG 203
8 October 2014
“I have read, understand, and am in compliance with the Academic Honesty policy. In particular, I have not committed any kind of plagiarism. There are no un-attributed direct or indirect quotations or paraphrases from printed materials, websites, other students’ papers, or any other sources in my essay.”
An Inadequate Existence of Empathy Growing up, most individuals are taught to be sympathetic towards others during their times of despair. Sending “Feel Better!” cards to someone in the hospital or flowers to someone who’s loved one has passed are examples of how society attempts to visibly show others they feel bad for one another, or that they sympathize with them. Beyond the realm of visibility and tangibility there is empathy, said to be one of the most important “skills” humans can possess. Empathy involves an individual recalling their own personal feelings of a situation they have been through and making them relevant to that of another individual’s situation- it, unlike sympathy, requires first and foremost an understanding of the emotions of someone else while vicariously feeling these same emotions in concordance with that individual. For example, children look to their parents when they come upon various trials and tribulations, and parent(s), with far greater life experiences, are expected to have an understanding of their child’s feelings- they are expected to possess the ability to empathize. In his short story, “Barn Burner,” William Faulkner emphasizes the importance of the presence of empathy in individuals by creating Abner Snopes, a man that spends his life making a conscious refusal to feel empathy towards society, and more specifically toward his youngest son, Sarty. Through the continuous use of diction with a negative connotation to describe Abner, Faulkner shows how Abner’s lack of empathy negatively impacts his son’s ability to understand him and shows the consequences of this lack of empathy fall on not only himself, but on his son and their society as a whole. Throughout the short story, Faulkner uses the words “cold” and “harsh” when describing Abner’s voice anytime he speaks. “Cold,” often used to describe the temperature of something, is used to describe the way Abner’s voice comes across to those he is speaking to and more specifically the way his words make people feel. This shows the reader the normality of Abner’s negativity and because of this even if his words are not meant to be negative, the way he says them prevents any other meaning from being made. “Harsh,” is also a word used continuously by Faulkner to describe Abner when he speaks, puts a negative emphasis on the tone of his words when they are spoken. On page 341 specifically for example, after Sarty gets beat up outside of the courthouse Abner “[jerks] him back…” and in a “harsh, cold voice” tells him to “go get in the wagon.” This instance shows a deliberate refusal of empathy in Abner because although he certainly can understand this physical pain Sarty is in, he neither defends his son nor comforts him. (Faulkner 340) When Sarty’s mother tries to comfort him and he tells her to “lemme be,” this reaction is a direct consequence of Abner’s lack of empathy toward his son. (Faulkner 340) Sarty does not want to seem week in the eyes of his father, so he denies his mother’s comfort because he fears his father’s punishment for accepting the comfort more. The reader can also see another consequence of the way Abner treats Sarty is an interpersonal battle by Sarty to stay loyal to his father, because children always feel some sort of emotional attachment and obligation to the parents that birthed them, or to rebel against him and his wrongdoings because of the inadequacy of Abner as a caretaker emotionally. By creating this battle in Sarty, Faulkner shows how individuals are more likely to bestow traits like loyalty upon those individuals in which they can mutually empathize with. Abner’s intimidating demeanor created by his lack of empathy is apparent to strangers as well as his family. “Strangers… got a feeling that his ferocious conviction in the righteousness of his own actions would be of advantage to all whose interest lay with his.” (Faulkner 342) In this description of Abner in the eyes of strangers, the reader further confirm that he gets by in life by bestowing fear in those around him. The use of the word “ferocious” suggests to the reader that Abner has an almost animalistic selfishness and self- righteousness about him, which takes the place of any humane ability to empathize. The reader can not that because Abner has no empathy for these people he feels no remorse in his actions against them and this irrational behavior intimidates the community so much that individuals try not to upset him but rather steer clear of him completely. The reader can see that the relationship between Abner and society is somewhat of a cycle: Abner’s complete lack of empathy toward society makes it impossible for strangers to have any desire to accept him or understand him, they only fear him and because these people deny him acceptance, Abner continues to refuse to feel any sort of empathy. The ability to empathize is a skill that is flourishes when it is equally given and received. In “Barn Burning,” William Faulkner emphasizes the importance of the presence of empathy in individuals by creating Abner Snopes, a man that spends his life making a conscious refusal to feel empathy towards society and his family, and because Abner refuses to give empathy he receives none from society, and more importantly none from his family.