Barn Burning

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"Barn Burning"

1. We find our main character, the youngest son, stuck between a rock and a hard place. What would you have done if you were the boy? Did he do what was right – was justice done – or does he betray his family? Also, this hits on the arena of nature vs. nurture and the debate about whether people can change. Will this young boy eventually grow to be the same (nature – genetics) or can he be adequately motivated to change and be something different?
I think I would have done the same thing as the boy did in “Barn Burning.” I would have taken off. I have always thought that if I was being abused as a child or a wife, I would have the courage to get away from my abuser, but we don’t know what we would do in that kind of situation. …show more content…
He has trouble with all authority figures from Mr. Hawkins to his own parents. Wright is letting the reader know that the white people were not high and mighty over the black people in this story. The black and white faces in the crowd are working people that are on the same working class level as Dave and his family. Mr. Hawkins is a white man and is the boss, but he is the one who is kindest to Dave by telling him, “Ain’t nobody going to hurt you.”
4. If they had not laughed at him, do you think the ending would be different? Would Dave still be as angered and driven to fire the gun -- even wishing he could shoot at Hawkins's house? What does this suggest?
Even if they were understanding and supportive to Dave when they were all standing around the dead Jenny after he shot her, it probably would not have changed his reaction at the end of the story. Dave is a confused, angry, and immature young man who thinks a gun is going to change all that. When they laughed at him it was not the cause of his problems, it was just another layer in the boy’s confused attitude. His problems are so much deeper than just having them laugh at him that regardless of the laughing or not laughing he would have still had those feeling to use the gun or even shoot as Hawkins’s house. This suggests that he is a deeply troubled teen who is not going to be easily fixed and sadly may never be
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