Crossing the Line in Faulkner's Barn BurningAmerican author Joyce Carol Oats, in her Master Race, wrote that "our enemy is traditionally our savior" (Oats 28) . Oats recognized that we often learn more from our enemy than from ourselves. Whether the enemy is another nation at war, a more prolific writer, or even the person next door, we can often ascertain a tremendous amount of knowledge by studying that opposing side. Likewise, literature has always sought to provide insight into human nature through the study of opposing forces. Often, simply by observing the binary operations present in a given text, the meanings of the text, both hidden and apparent, can become surprisingly clear. In William Faulkner's famous short story "Barn Burning," the innate binary operations, particularly those of the poor against the rich and of society against the outsider, allow the reader to gain a new and more acute understanding of the text. The most important binary operation in Faulkner's masterpiece is the projected idea of ​​the rich as opposed to the stark reality of the poor. Throughout the play, scenes of the Snopes family are constantly described in detail and contrasted with the wealth that appears abundant around them. For example, at the very beginning of the story, young Colonel Sartoris Snopes is described as "small and lean like his father" wearing "patched and faded jeans" that are later described as too small (Faulkner 1555). This poor child, with his tattered clothes, bare feet and scared-to-the-bone expression, is juxtaposed against the richness of the Justice of the Peace's borrowed courtroom: its "crammed" shelves full of cans of food, herbs aromatic cheese, and "the silver curve of the fish"--the... center of the card... lty, or even the normal versus the bold. But the whole story seems to focus on two aspects: that of the poor against the rich and society against the outsiders. These two operations allow, and even require, a different reading of the text, giving us a young colonel who tries to break out of his limits and become the opposite of what he was. Ultimately, Faulkner allows him to succeed. After his father's death, the young man runs through the woods, leaving his family behind forever. The text ends with the powerful phrase: “He did not look back” (Faulkner 1566). Works Cited Oats, Joyce Carol. "Master Race." The history of dramatic theory and criticism. Ed. Giovanni Dukore. New York: Harper Collins, 1992. Faulkner, William. "Barn on fire." Heath's Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paolo Lauter. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 1554-66.