Who is sarty named for in barn burning

Later that morning, de Spain rides up and infuriatingly tells Snopes that the rug is ruined, and that he is charging him 20 bushels of corn for destroying it, in addition to what Snopes already owes for renting the farm. The snobbish tone that de Spain uses to berate Snopes — "But you never had a hundred dollars.

You never will. Sarty affectionately addresses his father as "Pap" and promises that de Spain "won't git no twenty bushels! He won't git none! While barn burning is intolerable to Sarty, 20 bushels of corn as punishment for destroying a rug is excessive injustice, as the justice of the Peace will rule later. However, Sarty notes, one benefit of his father's having to pay the twenty bushels is that it might make him ". When Sarty discovers that his father must appear before the Justice of the Peace, he does not know that his father is the plaintiff and not the defendant.

In the courtroom, he cries out to the judge, "He ain't done it! He ain't burnt. Instinctively, Sarty comes to his father's defense, which emphasizes his family loyalty, although we know that he remains upset by previous barn burnings. After the judge rules that Snopes owes 10bushels of corn rather than 20, Sarty, still loyal to the family, sides with his father and says that de Spain "won't git no ten bushels neither.

He won't git one. Although we are not aware of it until later that night, Snopes feels defeated again by the aristocracy; he feels inferior. His determination to revenge the court's decision is revealed by the simple statement he gives his son.

That night at home, we hear Sarty's mother cry out suddenly, "Abner! Oh, God. After Sarty hears his mother's cry, immediately he sees a horrifying image: His father is still dressed in his black suit, "at once formal and burlesque. That Sarty's mother is so opposed to her husband's actions — to the point that she is brutally abused by him — foreshadows Sarty's own opposition to this senseless and violent crime.

When his father orders him to get more oil, he briefly hesitates. He is faced with three options: He can go along with his father, thus becoming a co-conspirator in the crime; he can " run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again "; or he can try either to stop his father or warn de Spain. Sarty embraces this third option when he pleads with his father, "Ain't you going to even send a nigger? At least you sent a nigger before! Harris claimed that a black man delivered a threatening message to him from Snopes; now, Snopes is not going to give de Spain any warning.

Before Snopes leaves the house, he instructs his wife to hold Sarty tightly, knowing that his son will warn de Spain of the impending barn burning and thwart his revenge. He now knows, with certainty, that Sarty is torn between loyalty to his family and his need to enforce principles of justice. After his father leaves, Sarty tries to break loose from his mother; his aunt, who joins in his pleas to let him go, threatens to go herself to warn de Spain.

Ultimately, we realize, the aunt, the mother, and Sarty are all on the same side — the side of justice. This fact is important to note because, otherwise, we might consider Sarty an anomaly, but with his mother and aunt's agreeing with him, his role as an advocate of justice is more convincing.

As soon as he is free, Sarty runs to de Spain's, bursts into the house, and cries out, "Barn! Sarty begins to run again, and suddenly he hears one gunshot followed by two more. He stops and yells, "Pap! Blindly running again, he falls down and calls out, "Father! At midnight, Sarty sits on the crest of a hill, his "grief and despair now no longer terror and fear but just grief and despair. Faulkner comments that Sarty is unaware that his father went to war not out of a sense of loyalty, but for "booty — it meant nothing and less than nothing to him if it were enemy booty or his own.

He gets up and continues walking down the road. The central image at the end of "Barn Burning" is one of rebirth and renewal, a typical image to end an initiation-into-manhood story. Sarty is headed "toward the dark woods," from which he hears birds calling. Not only that, but the sight of the mansion might even change his father so that he doesn't even want to burn barns anymore.

That gets more to the heart of the matter. Sarty doesn't understand that the southern mansion was probably built on activities worse than barn burning, but he knows it wasn't built by living the way his father lives. Unlike anything he's ever seen, the mansion represents an extreme alternative to his father's way of life. Even as he watches his deliberately father track horse poop on the de Spain's white rug, destroying all that "peace and dignity" with one move, he holds out hope.

Still, when Sarty sees his father treated with contempt by de Spain, he realizes that maybe there is more to the mansion than meets the eye. This growing awareness allows Sarty to sympathize with his father, at least for a time. The experience of living by the de Spain's mansion is a positive experience, event though Sarty's idealization of the mansion ultimately vanishes.

It reminds him that there are many alternatives in between the two-room shack and the mansion, and thus gives him reason to hope. We've already discussed some of Sarty's changes in terms of his experience with the de Spain mansion. Over the six days of the story Sarty undergoes other changes as well.

For example, when we first meet Sarty he's scared and hungry. He doesn't want to lie for his father, but he's going to do it.

Because he sees the Justice and Harris as "Enemy! As is made clear in paragraph 4, he believes that his father's enemies are his enemies as well. Imagine what it must have felt like to have his father accuse him of planning to not lie, then hit him, and then give him a lecture about being loyal to your family. As we learn when Sarty follows his father to the de Spain mansion, the child finds his father "outrageous," unreasonable, and unfair After his father's speech, Sarty wants to run away, but something holds him back.

Now, we've already discussed how seeing the de Spain mansion is a turning point for Sarty, because it represents the chance of a better home and life. Another turning point is when de Spain complains that the rug hasn't been properly cleaned. It seems like only a ten-year-old would find de Spain unfair. Sarty knows his sisters put time and effort into cleaning it.

And he knows that the 1, pounds of corn de Spain is charging them will be on his back to pick and haul. If he was aware that his father knew he was ruining the rug when he first stepped on it, Sarty might feel differently. Plot Summary. Harris The Justice II. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.

The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents!

Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Edition on Barn Burning can help. Themes All Themes. Symbols All Symbols. Theme Wheel. Everything you need for every book you read.

The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. He feels a fierce, instinctive loyalty to the rest of his family, but that loyalty coexists both with a feeling that his connection to his family is inevitable, and with a hunger after other, alternative kinds of connections. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:. Barn Burning Quotes. Harris , The Justice I.

Related Themes: Resentment, Race, and Prejudice. Page Number and Citation : 3 Cite this Quote. Explanation and Analysis:. Related Symbols: Fire. Page Number and Citation : Cite this Quote.

Related Symbols: Blood. Related Themes: Loyalty, Family, Blood.