Date of Award
Spring 5-5-2025
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English and Linguistics
Department Chair or Program Director
Levin, Jonathan
First Advisor
Richards, Gary
Major or Concentration
English
Abstract
While rarely put into conversation, William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and James Joyce’s “Araby” have a remarkable amount to say to one another. These parallel portraits of childhood each follow a young boy, Sarty Snopes and a nameless narrator respectively, struggling to find emotional clarity within a repressive society. While far from either authors’ most blatant critique of Southern or Irish culture, both stories subtly weave in the confining forces of Catholicism, imperialism, patriarchy, and poverty. To cope with the drudgery and cruelty of their surroundings, the boys retreat into fantasies of love and heroism. These idealizations allow the boys to survive psychologically but are doomed to fail, forcing the children to confront their own powerlessness. This essay argues that these children’s futile quests for moral and personal fulfillment reveal the toll and tragedy of growing up in societies that value conformity, silence, and detachment over morality, intimacy, and emotional honesty.
Recommended Citation
Conner, Kathleen E., "“Already My Heart Misgave me”: Doomed Fantasy and Children in James Joyce’s “Araby” and William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”" (2025). Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects. 616.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/616