In “Barn Burning” it seems as if the story is written from the point of view of Sarty. Abner is usually spoken about from the back and Sarty always references him from behind or his back which may symbolize that he is an unfriendly character. Abner raises his voice a lot and puts a lot of pressure on his son Sarty, because they seem to be very similar. Sarty never wants to do what his father says, but he does not exactly have a choice since he lives with him. I also got from this story that Abner may have abused his wife and children, being a very rude character.
The main plot in this story however, is the fact that Abner burns barns and we are never really given a reason as to why. He may be jealous of the people who he is doing it to, or maybe he’s just getting revenge on past experiences in his life that really ticked him off. The first barn he burned, he sent a slave to the owner with a warning that wood and hay can burn, but the owner did not understand and just ignored it. That night his barn burned to the ground and he was livid. At one point, Abner destroyed a rug while pretending to clean it and got in some trouble. He was going to burn another barn in response to this, but he got shot before he could. Sarty cried but probably felt a huge surge of relief.
- Megan Burch
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