In a young boy's life, making the right moral choice can be difficult, especially when the choice goes against someone who is supposed to be respected, like a parent. William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is the coming-of-age story of a poor and mean sharecropper's son. Showing the difference between good and evil, Faulkner uses character descriptions and plot, revealing Sarty's struggles as he chooses between making the right moral decision or being loyal to a dishonest father. The description of the father's character and plot shows his wickedness. Abner is described as having an “impenetrable face and gray eyes” which, Faulkner writes, “gleamed coldly” (342). Describing the father's voice as "cold and harsh" and the fact that Abner often wears a stiff black coat creates an image of evil in the reader's mind (340). Making the connection with the color black to represent evil, Faulkner often uses black to describe the father. For example, when Sarty declares that he “saw his father against the light, but without face or depth, pointed, black, flat and bloodless as if carved from tin in the iron folds of the frock coat, his voice is as harsh as tin and without heat like tin” (341). Throughout the story, the father burns the barns of people he considers his enemies. The father does not like rich people and does not adequately support his family financially, which places them in the lowest income class. Faulkner depicts a theme of good versus evil throughout the plot. During the first conflict in the story, the justice of the peace is described as being “benevolent [and one could not] discern that his voice was troubled when he spoke” (340). If Sarty could have seen the kindness of the justice of the peace, Sarty could...... middle of paper ......be killed by the landowner. Although his father dies, Sarty's decision frees him from terror but not from grief and despair. Sarty rationalizes his father's death and illness by thinking: "He was brave!... He was in the war!. . .He was in Colonel Sartoris's cavalry” (349). Young Sarty did not know that his father was a mercenary soldier and only fought for money, not for honor. The challenges of learning life's lessons can be difficult. Learning to make good choices in life and live a righteous life can be difficult, especially when dealing with family members who are not making good choices themselves. It's hard to make good life choices when you're surrounded by people who always make the wrong choice and lie. Parents should be respected, trusted and role models for the development of their children's minds. As in life, not all choices can be black or white.