In "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, Sarty Snopes is a young, poor boy who is caught in a moral dilemma. He struggles tremendously between staying loyal to his family and remaining true to his own morals. Sarty's idealized image of his father, as well as his loyalty to his own blood, restrains Sarty (in the beginning of the story) from turning his father in to the authorities for his crime. His strong sense of moral direction, however, weighs heavily on his mind throughout the story and compels him to do the right thing in the end.

Sarty's naïveté blinds his impression of his father at times. He knows that it was wrong of his father to burn down the barn at the beginning of the story, yet Sarty feels that he must stand up for his father. Being so young and innocent, and considering their place in...