Untitled Essay, Research Paper

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At the conclusion of Barn Burning Sarty faces a major dilemma: go back to his family or just walk away. The consequences of this decision are great. For such a young boy, choosing to leave his family must be overwhelming and frightening. However, Sarty knows that in order for him to actually live, he must do this. As he walks away into the woods, he notices the cold, but also that soon there would be the sun. Surely symbolizing that the choice he has made was the right one, and that Sarty will soon realize its full benefits.

Sammy, in A&P , is another young man with a decision to make. While not as consequential as Sarty s, it is nonetheless a transforming choice. When Sammy makes his choice to quit the A&P he is essentially saying he will no longer take the easy road in life. He knew walking away from the store how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter. The simple and unassuming decision to quit a menial job changes Sammy s life. He will now have harder selections to make, but as people mature more difficulties are faced. Sammy grows up a little with his choice.

Sarty and Sammy are two completely different people, with two entirely different problems. The conclusion each one makes in his life, though, proves they are not unlike at all. At some point in everyone s life, he/she must make the transformation into adulthood. Sarty and Sammy make this conversion while young, and they realize the impact of their internal confrontation. Sarty and Sammy prove that beyond time and circumstance, a common human experience occurs. An event that everyone faces and everyone feels for the rest of his life.