It is important to notice the fact that despite the pressures from his father he decides to make his own choice and confront him. Therefore, the short story closes as a perfect circle with a somewhat similar action, this time the outcome differing. Thus, while in the beginning, Sarty would have lied for his parent, under the obligation of the Court, this time it was his own unquestionable choice to take a stand against the actions of his father. It is here that the transformation is obvious. He decides to choose the abstract morality of social institutions at the price of the alienation from his family. The final sentence, "He did not look back" seals his choice and opens up the path for his new quest.
Sarty's change in attitude and perception are resented to the reader with the help of two important elements: the narrator and the general setting of the story.
Firstly, the narrator plays a major key in guiding both Sarty and the reader in understanding the complexity of the characters and the situation in itself. It is present, as Zender points out "everywhere and nowhere" (Zender, 1989) arguing in fact that there is not just one perspective adopted by the narrator; in fact, the point-of-view of the story changes at the same time in which the targeted public does. In this respect, on the one hand, the narrator which aims to address the reader has a definite mission of clarifying certain aspects of the story such as the opening scene setting or the different descriptions that help the reader better picture the actual framework for the actions which are to take place. On the other hand however, there is a narrative perspective that supports the emancipation of the main character by providing him with additional clarifications especially in regard to his father. Yunis considers such a role and argues that "the narrator can do for Sarty what the young Sarty cannot: he can understand Abner's anti-social behavior, his anger, in a way Sarty as yet cannot; he can read, and therefore he can tell the truth about Abner's fires while placing him in the context of heroes respected by his audience." (Yunis, 1991) It determines the value of truth for certain considerations Sarty makes in regard to Ab; for instance, the courage Sarty considered his father capable of, especially after having participated in the Civil War, is denied by the narrator which provides additional clarification over the real...
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