Sympathy To 'Abner Snopes In Barn Burning'

Abner Snopes is not your everyday family man, going around burning barns and being very controlling towards his family. However the author makes his son Sarty, have somewhat of empathy towards Abner and admiration. Like the title Barn Burning, Abner Snopes burns barns as a past time. Although doing the horrible things he does there is something inside of his son Sarty that makes him believe his dad is a brave man and does these things for a reason. As we find out during the novel Abner was in the Civil War as a mercenary not fighting to be patriotic and to uphold his duty but for money. During the time while he was in the war he was stealing a horse when he was shot in the heel from the confederate army police force. He hid out in the woods

Having to leave one town to go help someone out on the farm was not the ideal way to live but it was what they had after Abner’s barn burning interest satisfying him but hurting the family. “This case is closed. I can’t find against you, Snopes, but I can give you/ advice. Leave this country and don’t come back to it.” (1005) so they end up leaving and finding a place as farm tenants to a man named Mr. de Spain who lets them stay in a little shack outside of the main house. While going to the house Sarty steps in some horse poop and ends up tracking it into the house where it messes up de Spains rug. Abner was held reliable for messing up the rug and had to clean the rug but to no success. Mr. de Spain said he was going to charge them twenty bushels of hay for ruining the rug but Abner takes him to court and sues him for charging him too much so they price is reduced to ten bushels of hay. Later Abner decides he is going to burn de Spains barn down while the mother tries and stop him. “Abner! No! No! Oh, God. Abner!” (1013) even with all the cries Abner still is determined to do what he wants to do. Sarty tries to warn de Spain but he comes up short and sees the barn is already a flame. I believe even though it is a horrible act it shows that Abner does what he feels and thinks not about the consequences but what is happening here

At the beginning when the family was on trial and was not found guilty the judge gave them some advice, “Take your wagon and get out of this country before dark” (1005) this meaning that if he did not get out something bad was going to happen to the family out of hate for what Abner had done. This made the family not really hate him but did not like him because of what he had done and how it affected them as well. You could see the violence coming from the people as soon as the court case was dismissed. On the way out a kid calls Sarty barn burner and knocks him down