Barn Burning (Abner Snopes)

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Abner Snopes, a lean man, is Sartys' father. In the book's first part he is accused of burning Mr Harris' barn. Because of his stiff leg, he has a small handicap and his stiff walk makes his appearance very harsh. He is an impulsive man. His actions are caused by his feelings, mostly anger.

Abner Snopes is a dubious person, who tends to outrage and flouts justice and law. It seems that he is disrespectful towards authorities or persons he feels superior to. He doesn't like black people because they live with much better living conditions than him in the houses of the rich white people although they are or were slaves. He can't understand that blacks can have the same rights as whites. In contrast to that, Abner Snopes lives in a little framehouse beyond the fields which belongs to the land of his employer.

It seems like he has burned many barns before the last one with which the story started.

He behaves as if he is the boss of his family which was usual at that time. He is a very dominant person, because he forbids his sons to go to school rather learn reading and writing. But he also gives the impression that he wants to protect his family and (to) supply it good. The children don't go to school, so they immediatly earn money and can nourish the whole family. He doesn't listen to his wife and his children which gives the impression that he doesn't love his family really much. Abner is quite hardened and demands a lot from his son, that's why the paternal love is often missing. He wants his children to learn to stick to their own blood, because otherwise he would even cast them out of the familiy (see p.3, line 24-25).His wife is completely the opposite of him, she seems to love her children and really to care for their health. We also learn about him that he had to fight in the Civil War while his family had to work for the rich people who could pay money for not having to go to war. At the end of the story the reader finds out that Abner Snopes only went to war to take personal advantage of the booty he thought he could get.

We also learn about Abner that he has an older brother. Before Abner went to the war he was a professional horse trader.(p.30; l.12-15)

[Bearbeiten] Pyromania of Abner Snopes

In the story you can recognize according to Abner Snopes' deeds that he's a pyromaniac. One reason for this could be his refusal of the society, which is indeed not quite clear described but you can see it in the way he talks or treats other people. A reason therefore could be his racism, but racism was quite normal in the time in which the story played. Also he is very angry because some blacks live better than him even if they're slaves and another reason could be that he was in war and flew as an deserteur. The impressions of war could make him hate the society and treat people not well because of his own treatment in this period. Most of the time he is angry, shouts a lot and even hits his youngest son. With that behaviour he makes himself a lot of foemen.

He commited at least twelve arsons because the family of the Snopes moved at least twelve times from a territory to another.

[Bearbeiten] Appearance

Abner Snopes doesn't talk a lot but when he does, his voice is "cold and harsh, level, without emphasis" (p.2, line 6)

Abner Snopes is probably a rather small man. He has an "inscrutable face with shaggy brows beneath which the gray eyes glint coldly" (p.25, line 1-3).

He has a stiff foot because he had been hurt in the heel by a musket ball when he had stolen a horse, so he makes really loud noises when he walks.

When he leaves his house to take care of everything, he usually wears a "flat, wide black hat and a formal coat of broadcloth which has once been black but now had a greenish cast and whose sleeves are too large" (p. 16, line 13-17).

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