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Negotiating Power: Speech Acts Shaping Power Dynamics in William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” Asst. Prof. Dr. Rana Abdul Settar Abid | ||
| Journal of Language Studies | ||
| Volume 10, Issue 2, Part 1, June 2026, Pages 266-290 PDF (563.14 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.25130/Lang.10.2.P1.14 | ||
| Author | ||
| Asst. Prof. Dr. Rana Abdul Settar Abid | ||
| Department of English, College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq | ||
| Abstract | ||
| The present research aims to conduct a discourse analysis study of power dynamics in William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. The categories of the speech acts theory, namely, directives, assertives, commissives, expressives, and declarations, are examined in the interactions between Abner Snopes and other characters, viz., his young son Sarty Snopes, on one hand and other characters representing the socio-economic system, on the other, seeking to find out how these speech acts contribute to weaving the discourse of authority, resistance, and ethical choice in the story. Previous studies have explored this side of the struggle from different perspectives, including psychological, historical, and socio-economic, but not linguistic. This is where the current study makes its contribution. The findings demonstrate Abner’s heavy use of directives in exerting his control over those who are weaker than him, such as his family members and servants. Meanwhile, he resorts to silence to confront and challenge the authority of those in power. Sarty, the son, on the other hand, used a variable range of those categories of speech acts as well as silence, exposing an evolving character along the story. The study concludes that power dynamics in literary discourse can be reflected through language as effectively as they are thematically portrayed. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Speech Act Theory; Power dynamics; Authority and resistance; Discourse analysis; Barn Burning | ||
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