Week 5
Prompt 1: Haruki Murakami's short story, Barn Burning is often said to be quintessential. If this is true, what perfect class might each of the characters represent and why would this be essential to the ending?
OR
Prompt 2: In William Faulkner's short story, Barn Burning, the young Sarty is conflicted: He is pulled between "the old fierce pull of blood" and "choosing for himself." What is it about the setting that makes this an particularly arduous struggle?
YES, Cite evidence. YES, back up your claim with not only evidence but a clear line of reasoning.
Emily Beaupre
ReplyDeletePrompt 1
“Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami takes place in Tokyo, a capitalistic society. Murakami uses his characters to represent the different social classes. The boyfriend represents the upper class as he is described as “impeccably dressed, and well spoken” and possesses “a silver sports car.” The boyfriend is characterized as a wealthy and well-mannered gentleman, the stereotypical member of the elite class. Furthermore, the boyfriend is used to symbolize the upper class in order to show their powerfulness and duality. The boyfriend has a hobby of burning down barns, a euphemism of him committing murder, yet his privilege of being wealthy shields him from any type of consequences. Even the narrator states that “no one would ever thing that a well-dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns.” This statement not only shows the immunity the wealthy typically has from their criminal actions, but also reveals the duality of the elite. Although these people are glorious in appearance, they tend to have a hidden side. For the boyfriend, he appears to be mentally balanced and proper, yet there is a sinister side of him that commits murderous acts. This is used to show that although the rich are typically put on this pedestal of perfection, they are not perfect but yet possess many faults. In addition, the boyfriend’s sadistic acts also resemble the fact that many times the rich, who possess a great deal of wealth, are unsatisfied.
The young woman resembles the marginalized in society. She is poor and solely dependent on others to take care of her which is reflected in the beginning of the story when the narrator states “Naturally, I paid for everything, all the food and drink.” Furthermore, the author uses the fact that she didn’t have any real friends or anyone to depend on to represent the fact that those living in poverty are uncared for in society. Since a capitalistic society is built on the principle of equivalent exchange the woman, who represents the poor, is perceived as helpless. The lower class is unable to exchange anything for their survival, breaking this principle causing them to eventually have to pay the price of their lives. This principle is reflected in the relationship between the boyfriend and the young woman. His wealthiness enables him to provide and take care of the girl, yet she is not able to give him anything in return. Unable to provide anything in return, she pays with her life as the barn that the boyfriend burns down symbolizes her. Therefore, the barns represent the poor people who are a group of people who are perceived as useless in society. The boyfriend burns the barns down, or murders poor people, not only because they are unable to provide for society, but also because this caused them to be perceived as unimportant. They have no one to rely on in society, so the boyfriend sees them as a perfect target as no one will miss them when they die. In addition, the fact that the barns represent the poor class in society and is being burned down by the character who represents the elite shows that the wealthy tend to manipulate and use the poor.
The narrator is used to symbolize the general public in society. He possesses some money as can be seen by his ability to provide for the woman yet he does not have the amount of influence that the rich possess. As a result, the narrator is unable to intervene in the wrongdoings of the elite. This is reflected when the narrator meticulously maps out the possible barns that the boyfriend could burn down, but does not realize in time that the barn represents the girl to stop him.Furthermore, the narrator is also used to illustrate the ignorance of the general public as he states “I still run past the five burns every morning.” This shows the narrator’s naivety as he continues to search for a barn not realizing that the barn symbolized the woman. His naivety is reflective of the general public’s lack of knowledge of the doings of the upper class and their powerlessness to the elite.
EMILY, I really like your approach to this and the connection you made regarding the positions and how each is related. I found it fascinating hearing about your perspective on the barns burning, being an emotional and mental as well.
Delete-EVA HECHT
Week 5: Grace Dunaway: Prompt 1
ReplyDeleteIn “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami, the boyfriend represents the elite class, shown as he was “impeccably dressed” and drove a “silver sports car”. He is even described as “pretty well off”. All of these descriptions place the boyfriend in the upper class. The girlfriend, on the other hand, has struggled with money her entire life. This is proven throughout the story when the author states “her income didn't amount to much” and based off the fact that she would call up her friend “when she’d run out of money and was hungry”. Because of her lower income, she became dependent on other men for money, as she had “boyfriends [that] made up… what it didn't cover”. The boyfriend would eventually murder his girlfriend, but faced no repercussions because of his elite status and money. Since he appeared to be well-off, no one suspected that he would be a murderer or the reason for his girlfriend’s disappearance. This is proven even further when the author states “no one would ever think that a welldressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns”, showing that his status allowed him to not draw suspicion, showing the privilege the wealthy and successful have within society. Since the girlfriend was poor and desperate for money, she initially benefitted from her relationship with her boyfriend as she fed off of his income. Her need for money encouraged her to start a relationship with the man that would ultimately kill her, which speaks to a bigger issue in society of the poor often putting themselves in dangerous situations in order to survive. In real life situations, this can be seen as poor people often have to result to stealing or other crimes in order to keep themselves and their families alive. The girlfriend, similarly, ended up getting killed due to her need for a stable money supply. The rich and powerful boyfriend saw her as an easy target due to her position in society as a poor woman, which would ultimately lead to her demise. Without the different classes in this society, the girl wouldn't have to resort to feeding off of richer men and the wealthy wouldn't prey on the poor in society, knowing that they would go unpunished. Ultimately, the classes are important to the ending because the girl died due to her need to feed off the upper class, and the boyfriend’s tendency to prey on poor women who he recognized needed him. The boyfriend was also not caught or punished in the end, which further shows how his status in society allowed him to dodge any suspicions or punishment.
Grace, I thought your approach to this was very intriguing. I think the textual evidence you used was very relevant and appealing to your claims.
Delete-EVA HECHT
I agree with your placement of characters into each class- Gabriela Miranda
DeleteI thought that your description of the social classes for the characters were well placed. I would have never thought of suspecting someone with money being able to accomplish murder.
Delete-Emily Ally
I liked how you described each of the characters and how they fit into their role in society.
DeleteEVA HECHT
ReplyDelete"Barn Burning" WEEK FIVE
In “Barn Burning”, by Haruki Murakami, the writer intends to have each of his characters represent a certain socio-economic position in the society that is Tokyo. In this short story, we have three main characters, all unnamed, which symbolize the three major classes in this society. First of all, we have the boyfriend of the woman in which our narrator is so fascinated by. His demeanor and personality uphold the values and perspective in which Murakami was attempting to portray as the elite and wealthy class. Upon first impression, Murakami describes him as “never hurting for money”, which identifies his monetary wellbeing, but what is more important is how this impacts his character and persona towards others. On page 4, he says “ We just thought that since we dropped in on you on a Sunday we'd better bring something to eat.” This moment demonstrates a high level of respectability and manners, despite our initial interaction and understanding of his destructive profession. However, he is very confident in his profession, which is very destructive and causes him to burn personal barns. On page 7, he says “I won’t get caught”. This confidence is fueled by his wealth and how this impacts his run-ins with the law. Through the boyfriend, Murakami attempts to depict Tokyo’s elite and highlight the importance of your demeanor and personality towards others. Secondly, we have the girlfriend, who Murakami strives to use as a symbol for the less fortunate people in the Tokyo community. She was very unreliable on dates, according to the narrator. On page 1, he says “A few times she called me up, usually when she'd run out of money and was hungry.” This quote highlights the reliance she has on other people, causing us to feel pity on her lifestyle. In regard to the end, we see her disappear midway through the short story and never interact with her again. On page thirteen, he says “That was almost a year ago. She just disappeared. “ We see the effects of her inability to remain consistent on the wellbeing and mental state of others. As she is symbolizing the poor people in Tokyo, we also see her importance to the story. From her actions, we can conclude that we need to be open minded and never worry because what is meant to be will be. Finally, we have our narrator, who symbolizes the middle class of Tokyo. These people are not wealthy, but they are also not poor. In the story, he is able to spend money on the girlfriend willingly. On page one, it says “I'd call her up and ask her where she'd like to go.” He was caring and open about the invitation and was facilitating the conversation about how each socio-economic class is connected, which is seen in the end. Overall, it becomes evident that the boyfriend provided an influence that was not overall admirable, the narrator serves a liaison between the two, and the girlfriend serves as a mysterious and unique character who fosters confusion and a great feeling of loss among the other two characters.
I liked how you put each character into a category and established what they represent.
Delete-Thomas
You did a really good job at establishing which social class everyone represented, and analyzing what effect it had on their personality and character.
Delete-Brynn Klaber
DeleteI didn't even realize that the narrator himself is a representation of a social class. Thank you for explaining that. - Josie Markovics
DeletePrompt 1: Haruki Murakami's short story, Barn Burning is often said to be quintessential. If this is true, what perfect class might each of the characters represent and why would this be essential to the ending?
ReplyDeleteCaroline Hunt
Haruki Murakami’s short story, “Barn Burning” can be seen as quintessential with the girl, boyfriend, and narrator all fitting “perfectly” into different social classes in order to argue the social injustice between the poor and wealthy. The girl would fit into the lower socioeconomic class as she had an income that “didn’t amount to much” or “any real friends”. The narrator symbolizes the general public as he merely blends in and goes along with everyday life. Lastly the boyfriend represents the wealthy upper class. He owns a “silver sports car” and wears “navy blue blazers” as he flaunts his wealth within society.
The boyfriend feels that “barns” or the lower class are worthless objects that must disappear. He is so confident that society does not care about the lower class that he feels he can go unnoticed when he murders them. The narrator even agrees that “no one would ever think that a well-dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns.” The boyfriend is able to use his status and privilege to murder the impoverished. Through his actions he highlights the inequalities between social classes as the lower classes are overlooked and the wealthy are treated as though they are royals who could never do anything wrong. The narrator symbolizes the ignorance of the middle class. He is so intrigued by the mystery of where the burnt barn is that he does not see that the barn symbolizes the lower class.
I like how you went into detail about the boyfriend, and the effect he has on the other characters. It emphasizes the fact that he represents the upper class, and he uses it to his advantage. - Brynn Klaber
DeleteThomas Stewart
ReplyDeleteWeek 5, Prompt 1
"Barn Burning" by William Faulkner is a story of loyalty, morality and anger. Sarty is young boy who loves his family and wants to help provide for them. The only problem is that his father, Snopes, has a hard time staying out of trouble. As the family moves, providing services for people across the south, Snopes does a poor job of making a good impression. In the beginning he is accused of burning down a mans barn house, which is revealed later on to be true. He tracks horse droppings into the De Spain mansion and even purposely ruins a very fancy rug. Snopes does a poor job of containing his anger and his son Sarty is the only one who seems to notice this. Sarty is honest and follows morals. He knows that what his father does is very bad and morally incorrect. When testifying at court for the barn that was burned, Sarty was very hesitant. His father pulled him to the side later that day after the court had been called and no one was convicted due to lack of evidence. His father was mad at Sarty, accusing him of ratting him out had the court session went on longer. Towards the end of the story, Snopes asks Sarty to fetch a tub of oil. Sarty is well aware of his father's intentions with the oil. He could no longer take the violence and deceit. He threatened to tell, but his entire family grabbed him and prevented him from moving. He escaped and ran to the De Spain Mansion, screaming about the barn. De Spain took his horse down to the barn and shot Snopes before he was able to burn the barn house down. Sarty's breaking point shows the violent nature of his father and the fact that he had to get away from him or try and stop him. He loved his family, but he decided that he could no longer pretend that resorting to violence was the answer to his family's problems, only that it would create it more.
Your use of emotion as motive in this story brings a new perspective to me.
Delete-Jackson McGarrigan
I think you meant to say "Prompt 2", i like how you go into great detail about Sarty's life and what events led him to do things on his own.- Josie Markovics
DeleteBrynn Klaber Week 5: “Barn Burning”
ReplyDeletePrompt 1: Social Classes in “Barn Burning”
The story, “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami takes place in Tokyo, where there are three main social classes. Each of the three main characters in the story represent one of the socio-economic classes. Starting in the lower class is the girlfriend. She struggled with making money, and often relied on others to buy her meals. When describing his relationship with her, the narrator states, “A few times she called me up, usually when she’d run out of money and was hungry. On those occasions she ate like you wouldn’t believe.” The narrator reveals that the girlfirend often asked him to buy her food because she couldn’t afford it herself. This shows that the girlfriend was constantly struggling to make ends meet, and her income from modeling wasn’t enough to keep her stable. The girlfriend representing the lower class is essential to the ending because she completely disappears. No one knows what happened to her, but it could possibly be related to the fact that she couldn’t make enough money to pay rent, so she had to move out of her apartment, and was too embarrassed to tell anyone. The middle class is represented by the narrator in the story. The narrator lives in a suburban area on the outskirts of town, and makes enough money to keep up with his own payments, but also sometimes pay for the girlfriend. The narrator states, “I paid for everything, all the food and drink.” This reveals how compassionate the narrator was towards the girlfriend because he would pay for her meals when he knew she was struggling. The friendship between the narrator and girlfriend is essential to the end of the story because after she disappears, the narrator is the only one who tries to look for her. The boyfriend was always busy with work to even care about the girlfriend’s disappearance. This, again, highlights the narrator’s kind nature, and how he really cared about the girlfriend despite her social class. Lastly, the upper class is represented by the boyfriend. No one knows for sure what the boyfriend is, but the narrator describes him as “well-off'' multiple times. He also drives a “silver sports car,” is “impeccably dressed,” and “well-spoken.” The narrator also compares him to Gatsby because no one has any idea what he doesn, but he is never hurting for money. All of this evidence reveals how the boyfriend represents the upper class, and is more focused on his wealth than his own girlfriend to the point where he isn’t worried about her disappearing. The boyfriend is essential to the end of the story because the narrator sees him at a coffee shop, where he informs the narrator that the girlfriend has been missing. The boyfriend doesn’t seem all that concerned with her disappearance, which makes the reader infer that maybe he had something to do with it. Overall, although each character represents a different social class, they were all able to come together and form relationships, even though it didn’t end well.
Your take on the social classes and how they operate is very insightful.
Delete-Jackson McGarrigan
Thank you for your feedback! -Brynn Klaber
DeleteJackson McGarrigan
ReplyDeleteBlog 6
Murakami’s “Barn Burning” is said to be a quintessential piece of literature. Within it, three characters are highlighted, which include the narrator, his female acquaintance, and her boyfriend. The character’s are used to display the social classes of the time, and their characteristics and dynamic relationships. The boyfriend, described as “impeccably dressed, and well spoken” with his “silver sports car” is used as a representation of the upper class in society. The female is used as a euphemism for the lower class, as the narrator discusses his need to pay “for everything, all the food and drink.” Finally, the narrator represents the middle class of society, as he is constantly in some sort of conundrum and dynamic in between the two others. The upper class, or the boyfriend, is seen taking advantage of a burdened lower class, and his talk of “barn burning” is in relation to his uncanny joy in destroying the lives of the lower class, or in this case, killing the girlfriend. The woman, in turn, relies on both men for sustenance, and has seemingly no purpose in her life, representing the tendencies of the lower class. She makes the boyfriend feel powerful and satisfied, and the narrator feel a sense of pity and contentment, as he can see just how much better off he is, at least in comparison. The narrator is stuck being unsure of the motive of either, and bending to both, showing his dynamic as the middle class, being stuck in between the others.
I completely agree with the way you categorized each character in relation with the socio-economic class.
Delete- Lilly Cox
I think your idea that the girlfriend makes him feel more powerful was very insightful- Gabriela Miranda
DeleteHank McAlister Week 5
ReplyDeleteprompt 2
In the story “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, the character Sarty is faced with a choice where he can either defend his father and protect him, or he can choose to tell the truth which would result in his father's imprisonment or worse. The setting of this story applies more pressure on Sarty, Sarty is put on the stand (although he is never truly questioned by the judge) and feels as though there is a ton of pressure on him because of everyone who is watching. Sarty wants to help his father remain innocent, however he also wants to do what is right and think for himself. "Do you want me to question this boy?" is a quote from the justice after Sarty has been brought onto the stand, this shows that there is a build up of pressure being placed on Sarty because he believes he is being picked to help determine his father's innocence. Sarty is also faced with the pressure of what he thinks is right, because Sarty knows whether his father is guilty or innocent, and is faced with the decision of if he should get away with what he's done. “a grape vine, over a ravine, and at the top of the swing had been caught in a prolonged instant of mesmerized gravity, weightless in time.” Is another quote that shows the amount of importance leading up to the time before the judge says he won't question the boy because of the large amount of pressure placed on the boy.
I really agree with your claim that the setting applies more pressure on Sarty's choice to either defend his father or tell the truth.
Delete- Lilly Cox
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLilly Cox
ReplyDelete(Prompt 1)
In the text, “Barn Burning”, the writer intends to have each individual character represent a specific socio-economic position in the society of Tokyo. In this piece of literature, there are three main characters. Specifically, these three characters are all without a name. Initially, the text presents readers with the boyfriend of the woman in which the narrator is so fascinated with. The assumption can be made that Murakami was intending to portray this character as the elite and wealthy class; due to his demeanor and hierarchy personality. Murakami describes him as “never hurting for money," which specifies his financial status; however, the way this impacts his character and persona towards others is most essential. It can be inferred that since he is never "hurting" for money, he has a sufficient amount, and plus some, to be financially satisfied. Through the boyfriend, Murakami attempts to portray Tokyo’s elite society and highlight the importance of your demeanor and personality towards others. Furthermore, the text provides us with the girlfriend. Murakami intends to portray her as the less fortunate of the society in the Tokyo community. According to the text she obtained no reliability in regards to dates. Marukami states, “A few times she called me up, usually when she'd run out of money and was hungry.” This quote emphasizes the dependence she has on other people, in-turn, causing readers to portray pity on her lifestyle. As the text progresses we see her disappear approximately midway through and never see her again. Her disappearance is a clear indication of her inability to remain consistent in the life of others who value her; therefore, evidently portraying her inability to benefit the well being of others. Conclusively, we are provided with the narrator. He symbolizes the middle class of Tokyo. These people are classified as being in the middle because although they are not wealthy, they are mutually not poor. In the text, he is capable of spending money on the girlfriend at his free will. He states, “I'd call her up and ask her where she'd like to go.” This claim symbolizes his sympathy and flexibility to offer an invitation and initiate a conversation about how each socio-economic class is intertwined. In shorter terms, the boyfriend was not one in which readers admired or were capable of respecting, and was associated with the wealthy and elite socio-economic class, the girlfriend is portrayed as being mysterious and unique who idolizes confusion among the other characters, due to her absence and disappearance, and is associated with the lower less-fortunate class, and the narrator simply serves as a mediator categorized by the middle socio-economic class.
I really like your interpretation of the social classes for the three unknown characters. Your perspective is different. -Emily Ally
DeleteThank you so much for your intuition!!!
Delete- Lilly Cox
Gabriela Miranda
ReplyDeleteWeek 5 Prompt 1
Haruki Murakami
In “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami, each person represents a different social class. The boyfriend represents the elite class. Without the boyfriend telling the narrator what he did for a living the narrator knew he had money, “He drove a silver sports car, German.” This elite status gives him the confidence and security to feel safe committing his crimes, “"I won't get caught," he said casually…He was probably right, I thought. And no one would ever think that a well-dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns.” The narrator is not of elite status, he has comfortable living but not luxurious like the boyfriend, he has no trouble paying for the woman, “Naturally, I paid for everything, all the food and drink” and has a home near the boyfriend. However, the woman is poor, she goes to the narrator for food sometimes, “A few times she called me up, usually when she'd run out of money and was hungry.” She relied on her friend and boyfriend to help keep her and the narrator is her only friend which is why the boyfriend targets her, “"With no money, for a month and a half. She's not the kind who can make it on her own, you know” and “There's not a single person she can depend on.” No one would be looking and caring for her if she went missing.
That was a great interpretation of the boyfriend.
DeleteAndrew Plate
ReplyDeleteWeek 5
Prompt Two
William Faulkner’s story “Barn Burning” is an incredible story of family, conflict, and vengeance. Even though he is a young boy, Sarty is determined to provide for his family. Sarty’s father, Abner Snopes, constantly reminds him that relationships among a family are essential and that he is soon growing to be a man. With that being said, Mr. Snopes is an alcoholic and an abusive father who burns down the barns of his employers. Sarty knows his father is a criminal but he still loves him very much and wants him to change. “Maybe he will feel it too. Maybe it will even change him now from what maybe he couldn't help but be.” In this quote Sarty is feeling the "the old fierce pull of blood" because he wants to keep loving his father even though he knows he has done wrong. This task becomes difficult when Sarty is called to testify against his father. “"Get that boy up here. He knows.", "Not him. The little one. The boy,". The setting of the courtroom makes Sarty’s conflict incredibly more arduous. He is deeply torn between his father, and the supreme ideals of justice. Although Sarty is ultimately never questioned, he realizes the newfound conflict within himself. Sarty figures he can resolve both, and his wish is for his father to change. The setting of the courtroom is what really creates the conflict for Sarty. He encountered a lot of pressure that day, and it compels him to do what he thinks is right, while also being loyal to his family.
Jackie Denenny
ReplyDeletePrompt 2
William Faulkner's story "Barn Burning" is about a boy named Sarty who has to choose between his own morals or to stand with his family. Sarty's father is a temperamental man with the tendency to burn his employers barns down. Each time after his father burns down a barn, the family must move to get away from all the damage the father of the family, Abner, has done. Sarty is only ten years old but he has gone through "twelve movings" in his short life because of his fathers actions. When the story begins, Sarty, his brother, and his father are inside of a courtroom where a justice is attempting to prosecute his father for burning down a barn. One of the men in the room says "Get that boy up here. He knows." This puts immense pressure on Sarty because he knows that his father is guilty but still he wants to protect him. When called upon, Sarty recalls feeling "as if he had swung outward at the end of a grape vine, over a ravine, and at the top of the swing had been caught in a prolonged instant of mesmerized gravity, weightless in time." He feels this great amount of pressure on his shoulders until it is decided he will not have to testify against his father. Being in the courtroom put Sarty in an especially stressful situation because he would either have to lie before a justice or turn his back on family and condemn his father to the consequences of his actions.
The quote you chose is a great depiction to show how he felt
DeleteJosie Markovics
ReplyDeleteWeek 5, Prompt 1
In the story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami, there is a great distinction of social classes represented. Taking place in Tokyo, the boyfriend in the text represents the upper rich class in society. He is seen to be “his late twenties, tall, impeccably dressed, and well spoken”. In reality he is a very mysterious man who has done cruel things to people who aren't like him. The lower class can be represented by the girlfriend/ best friend in the story. The narrator of the story would talk about his experiences with her and “A few times she called me up, usually when she'd run out of money and was hungry”. This helps to support the idea that she is lower class and is in need from others. This is the reason she started dating the rich upper class man. Unfortunately in society, people who tend to have less money will put themselves in situations that they wouldn't normally be in to try and obtain a normal life. The girl doesn’t seem to know much about the man she is dating and this helps to support the actions that occur at the end. Upper class people like the boyfriend tend to get away with things and have more freedom than lower classes. As stated, ”And no one would ever think that a well dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns “. This supports the actions that have been made by the boyfriend and how he has never been caught for doing illegal things because of the power he holds in society. In the end we find out what the action of “Barn burning” really means. The rich and wealthy would rather associate themselves with people who are just like them instead of caring for less wealthy people. Although the girl dated him for a better life, he used her to express his overall role in society and felt that people below him shouldn’t be important. This is a terrible situation for the girl and others before her as they continue to be victims of the harsh world they live in.
Good job portraying their roles in society and the relationships of those different roles.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEmily Ally
ReplyDeleteWeek 5
Prompt 1
In Murakami, “Barn Burning” is a metaphor for the careless exploitation of the upper class against the lower class. The wealthy man already has everything he could ever want, but he still feels drawn to acts of destruction against the lower class, whether it be arson or murder. The message of the story is that the wealthy cannot help but take from the poor, even when there is nothing of value the poor can give.Murakami’s protagonist is a successful, married writer; he spends time with the woman, who in the short story is younger than him, more so as a way to have fun than out of genuine love for her. And after the woman disappears and the writer has spoken with the other man, the story ends. There is no attempt to avenge his girlfriend’s disappearance by murdering the wealthy man. The writer only continues searching for a burnt-out barn he’ll never find. I feel that the narrator of the story really has a middle-class interest. Although he lives on the outskirts of the city he seems to be well fit for the suburban city life. The mysterious woman that ended up disappearing seemed to have a fulfilling life even after her father passed away. She knew that she needed someone to always be by her side even before her father passed away. She was a part of the popular party life and lived lavishly. She seemed that she was lost in society and had no direction in her life. She found direction when she met the mystery man from either Bruit or North Africa. The short story is consistent with Murakami’s usual style; it is full of mystery and an undercurrent of violence that never quite breaches the surface. It feels like it’s adapted from an entirely different story.
Prompt 1
ReplyDeleteHuraki Murakami’s short story, “Barn Burning” centers around three unnamed characters, each representing a different socioeconomic class. The boyfriend in the story is used to represent the wealthy, elite class. He drives a silver sports car, and portrays an image of wealth and properness to those he meets. Murakami uses this character to point out the privilege of the wealthy. The boyfriend’s privilege allows him to get away with murder, and the narrator even says that “no one would ever thing that a well-dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns”, the perfect example of the way in which the wealthy are often treated as being above the law. The narrator himself is an example of the more typical, or common, middle class man. He is able to live comfortably, though he is unable to possess the fancy cars and other things that the boyfriend would own. In this way, the narrator can be seen as a sort of middle ground between the boyfriend and the young woman. He allows the young woman to use him to go out and buy her meals, even stating that he “naturally” paid for everything and even knew that sometimes she would only call him to go out because she was hungry. Just as he allows her to use him because she is of a lower socioeconomic status than him, he is also unable to see the real problem with the boyfriend and idolizes his wealth. The narrator has an affinity for the boyfriend’s car and because of his wealth, he does not realize what the boyfriend has actually done, instead he continues running looking to see which barn he has burned. As was aforementioned, the young woman is representative of the lower class; she struggles to pay for some basic things such as meals and often uses men to pay for them. She is not self-dependent, and relies on others to support her and take care of her. She does not have friends or family, and she shows the loneliness and lack of roots that Murakami associates with a person of her status. In the end, this is what leads to her being killed. The boyfriend of such wealth killing the poor woman represents the way in which the wealthy use the poor, and do not value them same as they would value someone of wealth similar to their own.
Prompt 1:
ReplyDeleteIn Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami, the short story contains a set of three characters, each with very strong personalities that can easily sort them into certain groups of people, despite none of the characters being given names. The story is told from a first person point of view, narrated by a man who represents the middle class. Each character in this story has a noticeably different background from the other economically, which will later contribute to their reactions and the plot of the story. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to the narrator’s friend, a girl who he knew to bring home a new boyfriend every week. She did not have much of an income, and relied on her boyfriends to take care of her financially. Whatever she was unable to take care of herself, “her boyfriends made up” (8). The girl’s poor financial state is what makes her perfectly represent the poorer class, as she struggled with making ends meet through her own income. The narrator, on the other hand, does not have an overflow of cash, but has enough to pay for what he needs, and a little extra, like when he and the girl would go out to eat, “naturally, I [he] would pay for everything” (26). He is fortunate enough that his job provides for both himself and his leisurely activities. When the girl takes a trip, she returns with a new boyfriend, a man who represents the upper class in this story. He drives fancy cars, holds a job where he is important and called upon often, and sees himself as higher up than the lower class. This is essential to the ending, because it shows how his higher class ruined his perception of lower classes, and saw poorer people as less than human, allowing for him to slaughter them with no remorse. (Regan Allen)
Raneem Al-Habsha
ReplyDeleteWeek 5 Prompt 1
In Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami, there are three main characters who all live very different lives yet play a major role in each others lives. It's what makes the story so captivating, the rich boyfriend, the curious narrator, and the poverty-stricken yet amazing girl, this sets the plot but it goes further in detail of course. In the beginning of the story we learn about the relationship between the narrator a middle class man, he's married who has special feelings toward a girl who he met at a wedding, who drew his attention by just using a tangerine peeling. "Plus, I was married... income didn't amount to much." The girl was financially unstable as she used her "boyfriend's" to get around "What it didn't cover, her boyfriends made up", she fits under the poorer class. "A few times she called me up, usually when she'd run out of money and was hungry." The narrator understood her financial situation and didn't mind paying for the bill because of how she would make him feel. When the girl visits Algeria she picks up a new boyfriend. Her new boyfriend is a very wealthy man, and is an upper class man, he drives a fancy sports car and dresses impeccably nice according to the narrator. The different levels of social classes is how the boyfriend interpretes a person. Him as a upper class person it ruins his view on the lower class so when he murders them he doesn't feel guilty.
Yes! I agree that the characters have a major role in each others lives.
DeleteIn Haruki Murakami’s Barn Burning, the three characters, the man, the boyfriend, and the girlfriend, all represent main social classes. The story is an allegory for how different classes act and treat each other. The boyfriend would be characterized as the upper class. We know this from Murakami’s small yet important details about him, like how he has a lot of money and a nice car, “He drove a silver sports car, German.”(Murakami 3) The man and narrator of the story would represent the middle class. Important details that are mentioned about him include things like he is married and has a steady income, which sets him up as a pretty typical person. The girlfriend represents the lowest class, as she uses others for money because she has no steady income, “her income didn't amount to much.”(Murakami 1) The character dynamics are very important to understanding each person’s role within the story. For example, when the girlfriend goes missing, no one knows where she goes, or really looks for her. This likely represents how the lower class is left behind in many cases, and many lower class people are looked over and not cared about. The narrator of our story cares and gets along with both the girlfriend and the boyfriend, but has strange interactions with both. He feels overwhelmed and intimated by the boyfriend at times, while feeling superior and like a caregiver to the girlfriend. This reflects similarly to how the middle class interacts with other classes. Finally, the boyfriend is bold and does not fear consequences, plus he steps on and destroys little things. This is very similar to how many people view the upper class. On top of this, when his girlfriend goes missing, he isn’t really affected or distraught, “He gave a slight sigh and looked at his watch again. "I've really got to be going. Let's get together again sometime."” (Murakami 13). When he mentions that the girl has gone missing, he does not seem to show much remorse or second thought, thus proving that he didn’t care that much about her, similar to how the upper class pretends to care about the lower class but truly doesn’t. Each character within the story represents a separate class in society based on their personalities, actions, thoughts, accessories, and especially their interactions.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Jones
Week 5 Prompt 1
ReplyDeleteIn “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami each character is given a role to playing which leads to understanding the theme as a whole and provides with the best way towards the ending. The narrator plays the middle-class men, but he has enough money to provide in which he can go and pay for every dinner date that they attend. The meat head of a boyfriend she brings back from her trip is this man of high rich upper class. He seems to be playing a role and not actually fulfilling the actually wants. As in when the narrator attempts to get to know him, he tells the girl he does not understand how the boyfriend doing “foreign trade” have gotten him this far. She has no actually clue to what he does even though that is her boyfriend red flag instantly should have gone off. This girl is seemed to be poverty stricken and can not provide for herself and once her father dies there is no other mention of her family. The narrator acts as a gentlemen to both the boyfriend and this girl he represents the middle class and how much of the middle class are humbled and know at times how it feels to have a decent amount of money but also how it feels to have none at all. While the boyfriend seems only concerned with himself and what he can get out of the situation. He acts eerily with his “expressionless face” as though he has not experienced some type of joy. The middle class creates an attachment to the poverty stricken because they offer more to life then just their money and status. This connection between the narrator and the girl Is what makes the ending sad. The boyfriend even goes as far as to say “have you heard from her” that there is” no way she will last” basically on the funds she has. This is giving false hope to the narrator which is of lower class it almost settles this idea that the narrator is better then her and should not be dwelling over her. This was essential to create this idea of the value of how the upper class treat lower class and to and extent get away with it with not more then a slap on the wrist or a backward glance. Instead of helping her the boyfriend decided not too.
Great Job! I agree that the characters play a role in understanding the theme. -Carissa Boddie
DeleteMary Claire Haldeman
ReplyDeleteWeek 5 Prompt 1
Assuming Barn Burning is quintessential, each of the three characters represents one of the three typical social classes: upper, middle, and lower. Ultimately, this classification of characters is essential to the story’s disturbing ending.
The girl in Murakami’s tale clearly represents the lower class. She is characterized by her fatigue, hunger, few possessions, and dependence on wealthier men to provide for her. The narrator explains that she is a model, but “her income didn’t amount to much” and she has to rely on boyfriends to make up for the rest (1). She would call the narrator “when she’d run out of money and was hungry” (1). Her boyfriend describes her as unable to “make it on her own,” lacking money and “any real friends” (12). When the girl mysteriously vanishes without a trace, the narrator remarks that “the world moved on as always” (11). These characteristics (low-income, inability to provide for herself through her low-paying job, ability to slip through the cracks) are similarly reflected in the lower class. The fact that the girl could literally disappear without more than one person’s notice indicates the lack of attention and care society gave her. Members of the lower class, similar to the girl, fail to be noticed and assisted. For instance, the majority of trafficking victims are of a low socioeconomic status and come from the child welfare system; they are targeted due to their “lack of family and support system” (Global Human Trafficking).
The narrator, a man, represents the middle class. Little information is given about his socio-economic background, save for the fact that he is married, owns a house, and pays for “everything, all the food and drink” when he goes to lunch with the girl (1). Because he has a working job and there is no further insight into his status, it can be inferred that he is financially-comfortable. He can provide for himself, unlike the girl, but also does not own extravagant possessions lik the boyfriend. He rests somewhere between the low-class and high-class.
The boyfriend represents the upper class. The narrator describes him as “impeccably dressed, and well spoken” and driving “a silver sports car, German” (2,3). Neither the girl or narrator have a good idea of how the boyfriend makes his money, except that it involves “the import export business”, meeting with numerous people, and “[making] lots of phone calls” (3). The narrator goes as far as comparing the boyfriend to Gatsby due to the mystery behind what he does and fact that “he never seems to be hurting for money” (3). When the boyfriend reveals his strange habit of burning barns to the narrator, he confidently declares he “won’t get caught” (7). In this moment, the narrator realizes his validity: no one would suspect that someone well-dressed and “driving an expensive foreign car” as the boyfriend would be burning down barns. In defense of his barn burning, the boyfriend declares that he has “[his] own code of morality” (8). The boyfriend’s wealth and ability to evade the law simply because of his status reflects the upper-class.
The status’s reflected by the three characters are crucial to the story’s end. For the girl to disappear without a trace, she has to be low class. If she were middle or upper class, the chances are that more people would notice her disappearance and seek out justice for her. For the boyfriend to be able to get away with heinous crimes, he has to be upper class. He is able to prey off of the lower-class (the girl) without facing legal repercussions. And finally, the narrator has to be middle-class for the story to play out; he is oblivious to the boyfriend’s (upper-class’s) immoral actions and blind to the injustices committed against the girlfriend (lower class.
Very good use of quotes to describe the characters!-maggie
DeleteJohn Biesecker, Prompt 1
ReplyDeleteConsidering Barn Burning as quintessential, each character in the story represents a different level of wealth in a capitalistic society. The boyfriend clearly represents the elite, as he drives a very fancy sports car and wears a fashionable suit. The narrator is unsure of how the boyfriend as made so much money, but is well aware that he has plenty of it. The narrator represents the middle class as he is wealthy enough to take care of the girl at the very beginning, but is no where as rich as the boyfriend. He is also unable to stop the boyfriend from burning barns, representing how the middle class is not as powerful as the elites. The quote “no one would ever thing that a well-dressed young man driving an expensive foreign car would be running around torching barns.” represents how the narrator is aware of the boyfriend's strange habitat, but is unable to stop it. The girlfriend is the lower class, as she has very little money and constantly needs someone to provide for her. Her boyfriend takes care of her, and before that, the narrator took care of her. These three wealth classes represent all the main parts of an economic society.
I like your observation of the attire of each character,-maggie
DeleteIn the story of Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami, each character is carefully described to match a different class of people. When the author chose to write about the characters in this way he chose to do so in order for the reader to be able to relate to one of them. For example the author chose to describe the girl as, “Three months later she was back, seven pounds lighter and tanned a deep brown”. The author chose to describe the girl in this way to relate back to the readers who consider themselves to be more adventurous. The girl, throughout the story is described as vibrant and one of a kind as she is outgoing, which is what the narrator admires in her. The author hopes that some part of the reader can relate to her in this way to create a closer bond between reader and character. This bond strengthens the experience for the reader but allows the reader to understand the characters as the author intends them to. Overall the author carefully described each of the characters in the way that they are for a greater purpose and understanding of the story. This is done for each of the characters as the author wants the readers to deeply understand each of them. That is also why the author did not include many character so the reader would be able to focus on the 3 main characters deeply and find some connection with each of them.-maggie
ReplyDeleteCarissa Boddie
ReplyDeleteWeek 5, Prompt 2
William Faulkner's Barn Burning is about a boy named Sarty. He is faced with the decision of choosing between his morals or standing with his father. His father tends to burns the barns of his employers down. Whenever he burns down a barn they have to move and get away from the damage that Abner has caused. Even though Sarty is 10 he has moved 12 times. At the beginning of the story Sarty is in a courtroom and a judge is trying to prosecute his father for burning down a barn then someone says "Get that boy up here. He knows" This puts pressure on Sarty because he knows that his father is guilty but he has to protect him. This put him in a very stressful position because he would either have to lie to the justice or betray his father and suffer the consequences of either choice.
Week 5/Prompt 2
ReplyDeleteWinston Eskridge
Barn Burning by William Faulkner is a tumultuous story about a boy named Sarty and his relationship with his father and the rest of his family. Sarty’s father, Snopes, is a poor role model with terrible morals. He and his family have been kicked out of many towns because Snopes can not seem to stop causing trouble. He has burned barns, destroyed expensive rugs, and spread horse poop in the house of his employer. To make matters worse Snopes gets the whole family involved, and they comply with his outlandish commands to hide evidence that he was the one who destroyed the property. Sarty on the other hand wants no part in this. He knows what his father is doing is wrong but he can't do anything about it because he is too young and scared to do so. He had a chance to rat his father out when he was called to be a witness in his fathers court case. I think this was the moment that pushed Sarty over the edge with his father because snopes got mad at him for almost ratting him out, and Sarty realized how ridiculous his behavior was. The part of the story where Sarty proves himself is when his dad tells him to get the oil can. Sarty knows he will use it to burn down De Spain’s barn so he runs to tell De Spain. His family tries to hold him back but Sarty is successful. His father ends up getting shot and killed by De Spain. After this happens you can tell Sarty is almost pleased with himself. He is very relieved that he and his family won't have to deal with any more unfortunate situations that Snopes puts them in. Although it got his father killed, Sarty is happy he did the right thing. The part of the setting that makes Sarty's struggle so much worse is the fact that its him vs. everyone. Because the rest of his family chooses to turn a blind eye to Snope’s inappropriate actions, they are just as bad as he is, and they leave Sarty without anyone to rely on.
Week Five :
ReplyDeletePrompt One -
The short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami can be referred to as quintessential as it has characters that represent each social class, the girlfriend representing the lower class and the boyfriend being the opposite or the higher class. These classes are determined by society’s views and treatment towards those based on different economic incomes and the terms of how socially popular they are. The girlfriend is described in the story as having an income that “doesn’t amount to much” and no real friends, making her the perfect fit for society’s formed lower class system. Her boyfriend is actually the exact opposite, as he owns a sports car and wears clothing that we would consider to be a wealthy person’s attire, such as the blue blazers. The narrator is equivalent to the middle class, as he is seeming to blend in with the crowd, not holding large amounts of wealth or little to nothing. Now the issue of class comes in and is essential to the ending as the boyfriend acts out on his upper class privilege and decides to torch the barns. These barns he considered to be a symbol of the poor or lower class, and believed that society would not feel the need to be upset over the barns being torched to the ground. This story is about showing the inequality we have made as a society between the different “social classes,” and how unfair it is that those with more money are able to get away with ridiculous amounts of actions while the poor are targeted and are treated so poorly. This story holds an incredible theme, and I believe the author put these real everyday problems into a scenario that everyone should be able to recognize in hopes that we would change as a society and not feel so biased or discriminate so harshly against those with money or without.
Madeline Guyer
ReplyDeletePrompt 1
The quintessential essence of the characters in Haruki Murakami's 'Barn Burning' lies in the presence of different types of people we see in society. The boyfriend is the wealthy man, the person who knows what he's doing is wrong but does it anyways because he also knows he's guaranteed to get away with it. This is seen in the quote "I won't get caught," he said casually. "I pour on the gasoline, strike a match, and take off." He is very assured that no one will catch him. This essence manifests in society as the privileged, the son of wealthy people that gets community service for a crime that gets someone else five to ten years. Not only does the boyfriend think he will get away with barn burning, but he also thinks he has a right to burn barns. "The world's full of barns, that are, almost waiting for me to burn them down." This feeling of entitlement is also seen in many privileged people in society. The girlfriend, on the other hand, represents a very different type of person. She represents the forgettable, lesser person, who often does not receive her justice. In the story, she is known to be broke and to live off others. In the end, she also disappears without a trace with nobody except for the narrator looking for her. This portrays the person one can see in society that is often taken advantage of, and nobody really cares about them. These two very different characterizations represent a narrative often seen in society, the person taken advantage of that everybody forget, and the person that takes advantage that nobody touches.