Barn Burning: Sarty's Transformation into Adulthood In William Faulkner's story, "Barn Burning," we find a young man struggling with his relationship with his father. We see Sarty, the young man, grow into adulthood as he faces the many cruel actions and ways of Abner, his father. We see Sarty as a perplexed young man facing questions about loyalty to his father or loyalty to himself and the society in which he lives. His struggle to deal with the reactions caused by his father's acts leads him to think more about himself as the story progresses. Faulkner uses many examples to show the development of Sarty's consciousness as a theme of the story "Barn Burning". Three instances where we can see the development of a conscience in the story are the ways in which Sarty compliments and admires his father, the language he uses when describing his father, and the ways in which he obeys his father throughout the story. seeing a transition from childhood to adulthood in Sarty's life is in how he compliments his father. Sarty greatly admires his father and wishes that things could change for the better throughout the story. Early in the story he talks about how his father's "...wolfish independence..." (145) means his family is almost dependent on no one. He believes they live alone because of his father's drive for survival. When Sarty mentions how his father forcefully orders his sisters to clean a carpet "...without ever raising their voice..." (148), he shows how he views his father as strict, but not overly demanding. He seems to begin to feel dissent towards his father for the way he exercises his authority at home. As we near the end of the story, Sarty's compliments become sparse and have a different tone surrounding them. After escaping the burning barn, he spoke of his father in an almost heroic sense. He wanted everyone to remember his father as a brave man: "He was at war" (154) and should be known for that, not for burning barns. He seems to care, but doesn't condone his father and his actions. Another example where we see a transition is in the language he uses when describing his father. At the beginning of the story he spoke as a child observing and observing the things around him. He said he was his enemy