In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," the character Sarty experiences great growth throughout the story. He begins as a child who is fearful of his father--both disappointing him and incurring his wrath and violence. He is willing to lie to a judge to protect his father and remain loyal to his family. As the story progresses, and particularly when Sarty sees his father deliberately, maliciously soil the de Spain's white rug, he realizes that his father will never change and if he's not careful, he will turn into his father one day. It is at this moment, that Sarty realizes that he must make a choice between his own integrity and loyalty to his father.
He chooses integrity--at the cost of losing his family. When he alerts the de Spain's that his father has set fire to the barn, he irrevocably changes the course of his life. Shots are fired and his father and brother are probably killed; now that he has betrayed his family, Sarty has no choice but to run away. The final scene of this coming of age story shows Sarty walking away, with the sense that he will be better off and has made the right decision.
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