The Character of Abner in the Short Story "Barn Burning"

Have you ever read a story with a character who is just so obviously flat and see through, there is no other way the character can possibly be round? This is not one of those cases, which might be odd. Abner from the short story Barn Burning, no doubt is hard-headed, angry, and very unmannered… People may think. But what if really he isn’t anything at all what is first thought of him. Abner just really wants his family to understand that they are all they have, especially in the time this story takes place.

All he wants is for people to respect him, which causes him to seem a little like a hard-ass, but he does not want to be humiliated in front of his family. Abner knows right from wrong, so when he does wrong he knows what he is doing and it is intentional. Abner wants the best for him and his family even if the best is not always the right thing.

Abner first appears to be a flat character, but once you get to know him and the setting he is in, you can tell he is really a round character. He is actually a lot more than he appears on the surface.

People might wonder, what are flat and round characters? A flat character is a two- dimensional character that is easily understood and so what “see through” in his or her actions and for the most part does not change throughout the whole story.

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And a round character is a complex character who can be somewhat surprising to the reader and do unexpected things.

Abner is actually round, and he care about more than just himself. He just wants his family to get that they are all they have and all they can rely on, just like this quote says, “ ‘You got to learn. You gotta learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you'” (Faulkner). He states this because he wants his son Sarty to know that he should not screw over family because that is all they have, he needs to stick to them and love them. He wants his family to stay loyal to each other.

In the court Abner wanted his son to lie to the court because if they did not have their father they would probably die, because the women cannot work and the sons are too young to understand how to make a living. Abner was their only protection and shelter. Like this quote says, there was no other choice, but to lie to the court, “He aims for me to lie, he thought, again with that frantic grief and despair and I will have to do hit” (Faulkner). Abner only threatens Sarty so he is not made fools of. He cares about the family and if he is made a fool of the whole family would be made a fool, because he is the head of the family, so the only choice was to lie for the families sake.

Another example that proves Abner just wants to teach Sarty that family is all they have is, “… his father struck him with the flat of his hand on the side of the boys head…….”(Faulkner). This might sound rude or abusive, but it is all out of good, his son was being disrespectful and acting young when Sarty should have just been broad and said his dad never burn down the barn, because in all reality family is all they have. Abner also wants people to respect him, especially in front of his family.

Abner wants to be respected by people, in front of his family especially. This makes him a round character because he really cares about people’s opinion and the image he has, when he first appears careless and ignorant. He does not want to be humiliated and he does not want his masculinity questioned because he wants to be the best dad and husband for his family. Abner has to have a strong voice that shows who is boss, so his family will respect his efforts of being a man, his tone is shown here in this passage, “The voice harsh like tin and without heat like tin” (Faulkner). This is important to realize that he is not being rude, but showing dominance for the respect he deserves.

Picture it just being harsh, it makes people want to pay more attention and makes people wants to listen more so it is understandable why he talked in that way. Abner is assertive just to be respected as a tough man, Faulkner makes this obvious is this statement, ‘Get out of my way, nigger…” ” (Faulkner). It might seem unnecessary for Abner to be so mean and just yell at a boy like that, but his son is always watching and Abner wants to show his son that you need to be tough to be respected. And that is not just something that men did back then, it occurs now, in modern men, it is masculine to be tough and gain respect that way, just like Abner was doing and trying to teach his son.

Abner may seem clueless and incapable, but he really knows what he is doing, he chooses his actions from what he thinks is best, but he knows what is right and wrong. As said by Faulkner here, Abner is intentional in his actions, “Watching him, the boy remarked the absolutely undeviating course which his father held and saw the stiff foot come squarely down in a pile of fresh droppings where a horse had stood in the drive and which his father could have avoided by a simple change of stride” (Faulkner).

Abner knew he was going to walk into poop and he did not choose to walk away or out of the path for a reason that may be obscene, but is easy to find sympathy in. Abner saw the huge house and wanted to bring poop in and maybe ruin some things to show the owner of the house that he does not take anything from anyone and for this reason he will not be as seen low to and in front of his family. He also did it to show his power and that just because the mansion owner has a lot money he cannot take advantage of Abner. Again he shows his dominance because that is all he has, being poor and all.

This might seem like a job from a flat angry character, but people can understand why he did what he did and it was all in the good of his heart, not for the mansion owner obviously, but to save the family from future humiliation, making him round. Abner knows when he does wrong and he does what is right to fix it like Faulkner says, ” “He brought the rug to me and said he wanted the tracks washed out of it. I washed the tracks out and took the rug back to him'” (Faulkner). He is a man of his word and he knows he did wrong so he did what he could to fix the rug, and that is a lot more than a normal flat character would do. Therefore he is a round character and not a flat character.

People may disagree with the idea that Abner is actually round, and think that Abner not just appears to be flat, but really is. People may say he is cold and never shows any light in his actions, but none of that is true if those people really take the time to understand Abner and his actions. Those are just surface judgements. Abner is actually warm and cares about his family and that is obvious from the outcome of this quote, ” “Better tie him up to the bedpost’“ (Faulkner).

Abner did not do that because he knows that would humiliate Sarty and he does not want to embarrass his son because he cares about him and his feeling and that is not a characteristic of a cold flat character. Even Abner’s son Sarty can also see that Abner is warm and different than he appears, that is why he tries to comfort him, like the author shows here, ‘You done the best you could!” ” (Faulkner).

Sarty was making his dad feel better and understand that he tried all he could. Sarty would have never tried to help his dad if he did not love him and feel for him and understand why he does what he does. Abner wants people to think that he is flat and angry and hard-headed for the reason that he does not want his image to be seen as a “pansy” or in more aggressive terms, a “woman”.

Abner is a round character, but that is not obvious, he first seems to be flat, but once you get to know him he is round. Abner shows his roundness in many ways. He shows his roundness when you understand that all he wants to do is help his family know that they are all they have and all they will have.

Also he wants to get the respect he knows he deserves from the people around him, especially in front of his family. Abner knows right from wrong in his actions and he does the best thing even if it is the right thing. Abner is no doubt round, even though he appears flat. A round character does not care like Abner does, and would not try to be the best man he can like Abner does.