William Faulkner uses opposition and tension to great effect within his story, "Barn Burning." He explores oppositions like Sarty's blood ties to his father vs. The pull of moral imperative, and decent behaviour to society in general. These oppositions help to create the tension and mood in the story, and serve as a literary device to illustrate his themes of the initiation of the adolescent into adult life, and the triumph of the personal conscience over family loyalty.
Sarty's blood tie to his father vs. The pull of moral imperative to society in general is likely the major opposition within "Barn Burning."
As the story begins, Sartoris Snopes is in court, hoping that he does not have to testify in the arson case against his father, Mr. Snopes. Sarty knows that his father is guilty, but is willing to lie in court because he feels that his blood tie, to his father, or the "pull of blood" outweighs any moral imperative or decent behaviour to society. Sarty thinks that Mr. Harris is "his father's enemy (our enemy he thought in that despair, ourn, mine and hisn both! He's my father!)." Ultimately, Sarty must warn Mr. de Spain of his father's plans to burn down the plantation, as he cannot stop his father's actions. In this warning, the moral imperative to society wins out over the blood ties to his father, and Sarty has passed through a difficult and painful initiation into adult life.
Another striking opposition within Faulkner's novel is the opposition between De Spain's mansion and the black man's oppression. De Spain's mansion is beautiful, huge and the very epitome...
PIRA and the British Government's Response The war between the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and the British State from 1969 to 1998 was a complex situation in which various entities pursued similar and dissimilar aims through various channels (political as well as militaristic/terroristic). Even in the midst of the most violent clashes, secret talks were held between leaders of the PIRA and the British State, with the political face of
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