Comparison Of Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” And Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”

Comparison and Contrasting of Author’s Writing

Describe about the Current Bibliography for The Hemingway Review?

William Faulkner’s story “Barn Burning” focuses on the transformation of a man from a young man. Faulkner conveys the story in a very unconventional manner by using one of the most defining characteristics of the literary movement modernism i.e. alienation.

Whereas Hills like white elephants was rejected by early editors and was ignored by the anthologists until recently. The early editors returned this story and the story were thought like a sketch or an “anecdote” rather being a short story like “Barn Burning. Moreover, “Hill like white animals does not narrate a story in a traditional manner and unlike “Barn Burning”, the story does not have any plot.

A number of editors who was bewildered about the actual scene-taking place in the act previously rejected this story. In other words, it will take an exceptionally perceptive reader to realize that a couple is arguing about the girl’s having an abortion at a crucial time when abortions were absolutely illegal and considered to be immoral and usually dangerous.

The early objections also cited the fact that, the story of “Hills like white Elephants” does not have any traditional characterization, which Faulkner has well presented in its “Barn Burning”. Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” from the initial point, made clear characterization through a ten years old-Sarty identifies the crisis of his father yet support him wholeheartedly even after knowing that his father is doing wrong. Faulkner easily conveys it to the readers through thoughts of Sarty. In comparison to Hemmingway’s, “Hills like white Elephants” the female has been referred to as “simple girl” whereas the male character addressed as the “man” .The story does not provide any significant presentation about the background.

 The opening setting of “Barn Burning” emphasize on antithetical loyalties that confronts Sarty. The setting opens up a court, place to make justice for peace, where Abner Snope has been accused of burning the barn of Mr.Harris. Young Sarty has the choice of being loyal to his father who is his blood relative or can innately sense what is right However, in the court of Justice, Sarty immediately convinced that all people present in court is his father’s enemy and fiercely aligns himself with a loyalty to blood and kin. Due to lack in evidence, the charges against Abner Snopes, Sarty’s has been declined and he his ordered to leave the country.  Faulkner presented a harsh image of Sarty in the line “he (Sarty) followed the stiff black coat, the wiry figure, walking a little stiffly from where a Confedarate provost’s man …taken him in the heel on a stolen horse thirty years ago” (Jacobs, 2015). The reader is presented with insight into Snopes’ shady past and shows that he has never been a law-abiding citizen.

Characterization and Presentation

Every conversation in the story of “Hills like white Elephants” indicates that the man definitely wants his partner i.e. the “girl” to have an abortion. The readers question his sincerity and honesty when he says, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it, if you didn’t want to” (Kang, 2012). It shows the man is not convincing. From his previous statements, it was evident that the man does not want the responsibility that a child would entail; in addition, he strongly wants the girl to abort the child and clearly seems to be unresponsive to the feelings of the girl. Hence, both the stories have presented characters of dark shade where both contrast each other.

Fualkner expressed the character of Abner Snopes as an abusive and violent to his own family, and a destructive individual who focuses on utilising his energy against the economic and social inequality (Kirchdorfer, 2015). Moreover, authors were expected to guide readers throughout the story as did  by Faulkner, however it was not done in Hemmingway’s “ Hills like White Elephants ”. In contrast to “Barn Burning” where Faulkner has directly addressed their readers, but readers of “Hills like white animals” are never aware of the author’s voice behind the story.

Although set in late 19’s, this story by Fualkner captures the tension between the rich and poor during the phase of depression. After “A rose to Emily”, this story comes second among the most anthologized stories. The story reflects major conflict between the capital holder and labourer. The story has been remarkable in comparison to several proletariat fictions in 1930 due to its unbiased presentation and that it does not take any side (Larson, 2013). In contrast, during the late 90’s, Hemmingway’s “Hills like white elephants, was one of the most anthologized of the short story’s unlike “Barn burning”. However, the story of “Hills like white elephants” has fallen into categories of appreciation due to the use of dialogues to convey the meaning of scene taking place in the railway station. Moreover, the dialogues helped the readers to gain adequate insight of the scene without the requirement of description, narration or no specific identification of the intent (Lawson, 2011).Although, there was no definite idea about the topic of discussion (abortion) taking place, yet the dialogue does not convey everything that we conclude about the characters.

In between the conflict of Major de Spain and Abner Snope, the readers might sympathize the pride of Snope family however; no support has been shown for Abner’s pyromania.  While the Major’s offense of ruining the property as Ab does to his carpet is understandable, whereas Major’s charging of 20 bushels is considered to be unfair and abuse of his power. Ab’s Son appears as the main character that comes between this Ambivalence, who possesses an intuitive sense of right and wrong and torn by the loyalty of his father . “Barn Burning” is a coming age story where a young individual “Sarty” discovers the moral complexity of the world. Playing in such complexity, the ending of story is unrevealed as Faulkner refuses to declare, who-if anybody- is actually on the receiving end of the three explained shots.

Symbolism and Themes

In contrast, there was not idea about how to react with Hemmingway’s characters which was not explained. The readers would have more easily comes to the terms with these characters if Hemmingway had described the character of girl significantly by stating, for instance, she spoke “Sarcastically”, “angrily”  or “bitterly” or that she was “indifferent” or “puzzled”, or if the readers were told that the man spoke with an “attitude of superiority”. Instead, Hemmingway was so aloof from the characters and their actions, where it seems the author himself knows little about them.

 The popularity of “Hills like white elephants” presented a whimsical mood of characters with no obtainable information. Whereas, readers of 1990’s was more accustomed to read between the lines of fictional narrative and did not prefer to be told in minute detail as told by Hemmingway. In comparison, Faulkner in “Bran Burning” significantly elaborated the characters, scenes, conditions and irony in a descriptive manner stating hooks and nooks of the story. Faulkner made strong presentation of characters, clear insight of the scenes making it easily understandable by the readers.

The key symbolism of the story considered the barn itself i.e. the question of what the actual meaning of barn burning meant in rural countries until the1940 and 1950. This aspect is integral to appreciate the political aspect of the stories at that time. Fundamentally, burning down of an employer’s barn is the employers’ sole way of expressing their anger to his economic exploitation. After all, Snopes are the sharecroppers and the feudal system of employment guarantee to keep their families in poverty.

 Whereas in “Hills like white Elephants” Hemmingway does not even specify the relationship between the two characters whether the “man” and the “girl” are friends, or married. However, Fualkner in “Barn burning” has precisely presented the turmoil between the relationship of a father and son.

In contrast, Hemmingway has presented the conversations between two “unknown” characters and allow the readers to draw their own conclusions. Thus, readers probably would assume that the two characters not married: however, if the readers are interested to speculate them significantly, the conversations must be analyzed to evaluate the impact of their marriage, its impact on their life. In order to answer these questions, the readers have to take note of few details in the story, such as their luggage. Their luggage has “labels on them from all of the hotels where they have spent nights together”.  So it raises questions on whether these two people i.e. the man and the girl, to have this child or their relentless wandering that would cease at some point and they would probably have to initiate a new lifestyle. Additionally, it was anticipated from precise note of significant scenes and conversations, where the two characters might have to make decisions on whether or not they should marry or legitimize their child. Given a plot of seamlessly free lifestyle and their relish for freedom, a baby and legitimizing the baby by marriage would impose great changes in their life.

In “Barn Burning” while the Snopes’ family leaves the town. Sarty though supported his father even after knowing that he has committed crime, consoles himself with the hope that this will be the last time his father has committed the a criminal act and that he cannot bring himself to even think of “Maybe  he is done satisfied now, now that he has”.  Deep down, Sarty realize or he is confirm that his father is not going to end his destructive rampage. The ten year old Sarty, cannot comprehend the actual reasons of his father’s deed: “ that the element of fire spoke to some deep mainspring of his father’s being”, and even more specifically, the fire served as “the one weapon for the preservation of his integrity” . In contrast, we compare the characters of Sarty with the “girl” in Hemmingway’s “ Hills like white Elephants” where she is ambivalent about her own choices being constantly influenced by her partner “the man”.  Whereas Sarty, who is confirmed about the criminal act by his father and also know that he would not stop doing this destructive deed, he is not ambivalent like the “girl”, yet cannot question his father.

 Finally, the title of the story is focussed on; where the girl has looked at the mountains and claims that they look like “white Elephants”. At once, the a tension between the characters starts where the man says “Oh cut it out.” The girl immediately slips into apology and stating that mountains do not actually look like white elephants- only their skin appears through the trees. Hence, from the man’s point of view, hills do not look like white elephants and also the hills certainly don’t have skins. From the Hemmingway’s presentation, the girl has moved away from the rational world of the man whereas in her world of intuition, she is apparently informed that her desires will never be fulfilled. Even though the presentation in “barn burning” are contrasting, Sarty, in his world of intuition is also well-informed that his father would never be a honest man, and he is virtually powerless to change the course of events in regards to his father, no matter how desperately he desire to do so.

Conclusion

Hemmingway in his “ Hills Like white elephants” has expected his viewers to judge the entire scene, during the very short exchanges between the girl and the man. The extremely shortness of Hemmingway’s story makes its points all the more powerful. On analysis, Hemmingway’s writing is journalistic where he reports dialogues in a direct pattern without any without using any fancy descriptions and fluffy adjectives. However, the author let his readers to assume most out of it.  In case of , “ Burn Barning” is a narrative story where Faulkner has seamlessly tied one scene to another. Faulkner is well known for its complex sentence structure and presents psychologically complex thoughts of characters. Such as in his story “ Burn Burning” young Sarty Snopes is being torn between the being loyal to his father and on doing what he innately sense is right.

References:

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Gardoqui, K. E. (2012). Most Likely to Succeed: Seeking Self-Knowledge in the Company of Characters. English Journal, 102(1), 76.

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Lawson, A. (2011). William Faulkner: An Economy of Complex Words.Historical Materialism, 19(2), 137-143.

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Peyser, T. (2013). Faulkner, Jews, and the New Deal: The Regional Commitments of ‘Barn Burning’. The Cambridge Quarterly, 42(1), 1-19.