Growth in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning and James...

Growth in William Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† and James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† The word family evokes an image of trust and a bond of loyalty. In William Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† and James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, the main characters in both these stories demonstrate the idea of family loyalty in several ways. While they continue to express the values of family loyalty, the main characters have to overcome several obstacles. Searching for ways to communicate effectively with their families and maintaining their changing identities trap the characters. In â€Å"Barn Burning†, Sarty is conflicted with being loyal to his family and being loyal to himself and in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, the brother has to deal with being loyal to Sonny’s values.†¦show more content†¦Sarty was taught to always stick to his own kind, his family, otherwise he would have none. â€Å"You got to stick to your own blood† (p.400). In comparison to Sarty’s character, the brother from â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† also deals with loyalty, but of a different type. The brother is caught up in wanting the world to serve him in order to live a successful life therefore fantasizing about the â€Å"American Dream†. He is so fixated on this â€Å"American Dream† that he overlooks what Sonny wants to do with his life and instead pulls him further into his own goals. What the brother is doing is taking care of Sonny, he is fulfilling his promise to his Mother. His Mother wanted him to take care of Sonny because she knows how tough it was when his Father lost his brother. As a result, her words of wisdom haunt him and remains in his memory forever. The brother can already relate to this for the reason that he just recently lost his own two-year old daughter who suffered from polio. â€Å"You may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you’s there,† (p.204). The brother’s real loyalty stands within his Mother in keeping his promise to her to take care of Sonny no matter what happens. In both stories, Sarty and the brother are both dynamic characters. The loyalty comparisons play a big role in changing their character and identity. Thought the characters know that something