Mississippi Burning Essay Questions

Why are children so loyal to their parents, even if their parents do not meet the moral standards of the child? Throughout the text of “Barn Burning”, Sarty seems to have repetitive feelings of grief and despair, yet he hesitates to out his father for his crimes. He hates his father’s crimes and his father’s way of life. Yet, Sarty is hesitant to out his father for his crimes. Mainly because he hopes his father will change, he fears his father will harm him physically or emotionally, and he places a priority on his family’s wellbeing before his own.

1. What are the main themes, politically and socially, that are portrayed in the film?

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” takes a lot of real life cultural values and ways of southern life in the late 1800s. Many of those values and ways are expressed by sharecropping and tenant farming.

The film frequently demonstrates racism and prejudice within the small-town as gossip and rumours are spread based upon race or appearance. Jasper Jones is a young aboriginal boy who is accused of

“Mississippi Burning” is based on the investigation of a missing persons case which turned into a murder case in Mississippi that involved three young students who were civil rights workers involved in Freedom Summer of 1964. Two of the students were Jewish and one was an African-American whom came down to Mississippi from New York City. After the students did not return home the parents pushed for media attention since the Mississippi Police were not doing any investigations. The FBI then had to get involved with the case. Little did the parents know that the police were the ones who actually committed the murder of their children. This film shows us the oppression towards African-Americans, specifically in the south.

We see so much racism throughout the movie and some of it is justified. At the beginning of the movie we see a well to do white women clench the arm of her well to do white husband when she sees two black men, but then those same black men go on to steal their car at gun point. Is her concern justified or did would these men had left them alone if she would not have shown racism to them.

Although I wasn’t in Mississippi during the ‘Freedom Summer’, I had a solid understanding of how life was during the ‘Freedom Summer’. This was years of racism and segregation towards the blacks in the US during the Civil Rights Movement. My aspect type was racism, and I learned of its impact on life through our analysis in the class of The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker, an epistolary novel about the lives of black people in rural dominated white racist Georgia during the 1920’s-50’s. Furthermore, we discussed Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural Speech in class, and how Mandela fought for Independence from the white racist government. With extra research of the Freedom Summer project launched by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating

Every person reaches a point in their lives when they must define themselves in relation to their parents. We all come through this experience differently, depending on our parents and the situation that we are in. For some people the experience comes very early in their lives, and can be a significant life changing experience. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” Colonel Sartoris Snopes must decide either to stand with his father and compromise his integrity, or embrace honesty and morality and condemn his family. This is a difficult decision to make, especially for a ten year old boy that has nothing outside of what his father provides. Sarty’s decision to ultimately betray his father is dependent on his observation of Abner’s character

The notion of cross burning has been a form of terror used to intimidate blacks and other minorities for over a century. Cross burning started in Scotland in the 14th Century used as a signal to their armies. In the United States, it was used by the Ku Klux Klan to signal impending violence against blacks in the late 1800's to the present day. The Supreme Court has dealt with the matter of cross-burning two times. In 1992 in R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul, the court struck down an ordinance that criminalized the display of certain symbols (burning crosses, swastikas, etc.) for arousing anger "on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender . Again, in 2003 the court revisited this issue in Virginia v Black this decision was a bit more specific and was a 5-4 decision. The Supreme Court upheld the Virginia Court decision upholding the unconstitutionality of the Virginia law but added that a state has a right to ban cross burning when there is the intent to intimidate but stopped short of banning cross burning of all types . What the Supreme Court did was set a road map for future laws banning cross burning.

     The Mississippi Burning Trial” was not for the cold-blooded murders of three young civil rights workers, but rather for the violation of their civil rights. The federal government wanted to break Mississippi’s “white supremacy” stronghold on the South. “The Mississippi Burning Trial” proved to be the opportunity to do so. The three branches of the federal government and their various departments were actively involved in bringing about this civil rights trial in Mississippi and these activities and personal views are well documented in court records, department records, and the press.

The saying, “blood is thicker than water” is a term used to imply that family relationships are always more important than friends. However, at times it may be hard to choose between family and friends based on right and wrong. In the short story, Barn Burning, written by “William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize winning novelist of the American South”(“William Faulkner”), choosing between family and doing what is right for honor and justice is highly expressed. The main character, Colonel Sartoris Snopes, nicknamed Sarty, battles his thoughts of doing what is right or wrong throughout the story. After following the orders of his father for ten years, Sarty eventually decides to make his own choice and go against the pull of blood.

In 1957, Baldwin got involved in the Civil Rights Movement. His contribution to the movement included a multitude of books that focused on African American and White relations including, among others: The Fire Next Time. Along with his books, Baldwin wrote many articles about society and human rights. Furthermore, as an activist Baldwin ventured to the south several times in order to get a better understanding of the race issues in America. Baldwin also attended the March on Washington and remained active until he died. Through his writing, Baldwin became one of the most important advocates for equality in America.

All stories, as all individuals, are embedded in a context or setting: a time, a place, and a culture. In fact, characters and their relationship to others are better understood in a specific context of time, place and atmosphere, as they relate to a proposed theme or central point of a story. Abner is revealed as a sadistic character who confronts his son with the choice of keeping his loyal ties to the family or parting for a life on his own with no familial support. Sarty is Abner's son, a young boy torn by the words of his father and the innate senses of his heart. Sarty is challenged by an internal conflict, he wants to disobey his father, yet he knows that if he leaves he will have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. We will

In the movie “Mississippi Burning,” by Alan Parker, the white citizens of Mississippi believe it is okay to treat the black citizens in a harsh manner mainly because of their deep rooted racism and segregation. In the opening scene of the movie, the segregation of races is evident with a water fountain for black people and another one for white people. For example, when the TV reporters were interviewing the residents of the area, they asked them how they felt the colored people were being treated and they replied “They are being treated fine.” This clearly shows that, the white people are either blind or they’re ignorant because clearly the black citizens were not even receiving their basic human rights.

The film Mississippi Burning starts out by displaying how three Civil Rights Workers get tailed, caught, and murdered in the woods by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The movie reveals to viewers, through conversation, the clashing personalities of the two FBI agents, Agent Ward and Agent Anderson, who came to Mississippi to investigate the missing persons case of the three boys. It becomes obvious over the course of the film that the two agents do not exactly see eye to eye on how to operate the investigation, including tactics to get the information they need. In addition, unfortunately, the two agents find out pretty quickly that they are not welcome in the town, as it is essentially a community run by the KKK. Many of the businesses in the town, and even the police department are controlled by members of the Klan, making it a society full of racist hatred. The two agents, after not being able to get very far on their own, call for reinforcements to assist with finding information for their investigation. A large amount of FBI agents as well as numerous members of the Navy Reserve are sent to help in the search for the three missing boys. As the two agents get closer and closer to finding the truth about the murders, they are constantly surrounded by the Klan’s leaders including Clayton Townley and Deputy Clinton Pell. Agent Anderson, being originally from the South knows Mississippians’ view on African Americans and realizes that any white citizen would be scared to death at the sight of an African American having the upper hand over them and wanting revenge on members of the Klan. The two agents