Family Ties and Morality - Book Report/Review Example

Somewhere deep inside, Sarty just wants to do what he personally thinks is right but because of his very young ager, I do not think he reasonably has thought of that yet. His concept of right and wrong has been largely influenced by his dictatorial father. We as well get an idea of the character of Abner through the manner Sarty depicts his physical appearance. After reading the story, I suddenly thought of my own family and ask myself at what point should an individual break his/her ties to his/her family when the revelation of the truth is involved?

Parents, specifical fathers, tend to be tyrannical in their manner of instilling values to their children which at times hides the truth from a young heart and mind. This is the moral dilemma that is vividly explored in the story and one that is confronted by many Christians. Christians have been taught to love and respect their families even at times of moral difficulties. But religion also teaches us to lean to the truth and never distort the things that actually transpired. At one time in my life, I was confronted with this decision of either conforming with the morality that my father instilled in me or asserting my own version of morality and individuality through escaping or running away, by abandoning my family and the pain that I was enduring.

However, just like Sarty, I realized that the tyranny of my father is an expression of his own individuality which is shaped and represented by everything that is actually morally wrong and wicked, yet remains to be my own hero of truth. I strongly believe that family ties form a moral commitment on the individual, but consequently, fails to acknowledge the imminent that there is a greater morality which might demand the individual to take action upon the binding family ties. ReferenceFaulkner, William.

"Barn Burning." The Collected Works of William Faulkner.New York: Random House 1950.