Major de Spain hires Abner Snopes to work his land as a sharecropper. De Spain, a prominent property owner, is the complete social opposite of Abner, who has no property and virtually no social status. De Spain holds the title of Major as a former officer in the Confederate Army, contrasting sharply with Abner, who served as a private soldier and not a very competent one at that. Before the war, Major de Spain likely owned slaves, and he still employs black servants, some dressed in livery for the house, while others work for minimal wages in the yards and fields. He belongs to the Southern aristocracy, though his name does not connect him with the Protestant upper class or the French-descended elite of the Old South. The name "de Spain" hints at the nearly forgotten Spanish influence in Louisiana and Florida, or possibly the creole, or "light-skinned free blacks" of New Orleans. If de Spain were indeed a creole, having some African ancestry, his dominance over Abner would likely feel even more humiliating for Abner than usual. However, this is speculative.

De Spain rides a sorrel horse, while Abner drives mules, highlighting their stark differences. It is crucial not to reduce Major de Spain to a mere stereotype of an oppressor. Abner Snopes is the true antagonist of the story. Compared to Abner, the Major appears reasonable. When Abner deliberately soils an expensive rug, de Spain's response is to instruct him to clean it. When Abner causes further damage to the rug, de Spain is technically justified in demanding compensation (the twenty bushels of corn). To his surprise, Abner sues him and requests a reduced penalty, which the judge grants. Major de Spain is a man subjected to unwarranted frustration, and it can be argued that he shows restraint. He is also within his rights when he shoots Abner, the arsonist, upon catching him in the act.

De Spain maintains an impressive house, which captivates Sarty with its orderliness. In the context of “Barn Burning,” de Spain represents social and aesthetic order, two elements that Sarty has been deprived of throughout his life.

Sarty, short for Colonel Sartoris Snopes, carries the name of a renowned Confederate commander from the Civil War, possibly one under whom his father, Abner Snopes, served. It seems Abner chose this name for his son to gain public favor in the post-Civil War South, the setting of the story "Barn Burning." At ten years old, Sarty, the youngest child of an itinerant sharecropper, has the intellectual maturity typical for his age—he does not deeply analyze events nor does he have much formal education. Nevertheless, he shows signs of natural, though undeveloped, intelligence, evident in his keen awareness of the physical world. For instance, his vivid perception of the general store's interior in the story's opening scene highlights this awareness. Sarty's developing sense of morality, a trait his father lacks, also indicates his innate brightness.

Sarty's father has instilled in him a fierce loyalty to their family. Thus, during the hearing in the general store, where Abner faces Mr. Harris's accusation of arson, Sarty views Harris as an enemy to both his father and himself. Faulkner uses the term "enemy" in Sarty's internal monologue, which forms a significant part of the narrative. When an older boy hurls the insult "barn-burner" at Sarty and Abner as they exit the store-cum-courthouse, Sarty attacks the boy like a wild animal, only to be quickly overpowered and bloodied. Later, Sarty permits Abner to slap him and submits to the oppressive control his father exerts over the family until the story's conclusion.

Despite Abner's oppressive control, a spark within Sarty refuses to be extinguished. Specifically, Sarty ultimately rebels against the immorality of Abner's habitual arson. The idea of an abstract right and wrong, which applies universally regardless of context, takes hold of Sarty. This newfound moral understanding drives him to warn Major de Spain of Abner's plan to set his barn on fire, even though he knows this will permanently separate him from his father. The forced lying and lack of love from his father have pushed Sarty toward this new moral viewpoint that surpasses his father's demands for family loyalty. At the story's end, Major de Spain catches Abner in the act of setting the barn afire and shoots him dead. Sarty's reaction is intriguing: he finds an unexpected tranquility in his solitude on a hilltop at night, as the stars move eternally above him.

Ab Snopes joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War, but his enlistment was driven purely by convenience. As the reader learns, Ab went to war as a "private" in the “fine old European sense”—motivated solely by the chance to loot. ''It meant nothing and less than nothing to him if it were enemy booty or his own.’’ Snopes was shot in the heel and limped as a result, but Faulkner makes it clear he doesn't deserve the usual respect given to wounded veterans. Snopes carries a deeper, more significant wound, possibly as ancient as original sin: an inflated ego and a hypersensitive nature, quick to take offense like a striking cobra. His existence appears to be a relentless cycle of offense, revenge, and escape. The barn-burning mentioned in the title refers to Snopes's habit of torching the property of those who, in his view, wrong him.

Similar to Captain Sutpen in Absalom, Absalom!, who attempts to create his own world separate from the larger society, Ab possesses a kind of God-complex. However, he lacks Sutpen's creativity, and his madness manifests through control, destruction, and fury. Ab's wife and daughters live entirely under his oppressive shadow, serving him passively and showing little initiative or imagination as he bullies them and others. (Only Sarty, Ab's son, has a will comparable to his father's.) But this God-complex is merely a surface symptom of a deep-seated lack of self-confidence. It is the insecurity of a man who feels rejected by society and cursed by fate, causing him to seethe with a perpetual sense of injury.

Despite never making plans to escape the cycle of itinerant land-tenancy—thus trapping himself in it—Ab harbors hatred for those who employ him. For instance, when he intentionally tracks dung into Major de Spain's manor house, he is expressing his disdain for all those who, due to his own actions, hold any power over him. It is almost as if he seeks out conflict to justify his covert acts of vengeful arson.

Ultimately, there is something both petty and harsh about Ab, whose theft of fence-posts to build a fire only produces a meager flame, inadequate to warm his family at their campsite. He strikes Sarty and handles his wife and daughter roughly, all while preaching the sanctity of family ties. Ab is a walking failure and a continuous source of provocation. The personal hell he creates by waging a perpetual war against everyone around him becomes torment for others—most notably for Sarty, his mother, and his sisters. They are condemned to suffer endless humiliation until the day Ab dies.

When we first encounter Sarty's mother, Mrs. Snopes (whom her husband calls Lennie at one point), she is in her Sunday dress, seated in a wagon loaded with the family's meager possessions, and crying. She has ample reason for her tears: her husband faces legal charges for arson, the latest in a string of such acts that have once again forced the Snopes family to relocate. Mrs. Snopes weeps due to the misery of her life and her husband's cruelty. Among the household items on the wagon is a clock, described as her dowry, which has long been stuck at fourteen minutes past two. This broken clock symbolizes Mrs. Snopes's life, which came to a spiritual halt when she, for reasons unknown, tied her fate to Ab Snopes.

Mrs. Snopes has two daughters and a son, in addition to her ten-year-old son Sarty. When she sees Sarty and his father approaching, she attempts to climb down from the wagon, but Ab commands her to stay put. This moment is emblematic of her life: Ab exerts total and sometimes brutal control over her and their children. When Sarty returns with his father after the hearing, his nose is bloodied from one of Ab's blows. Her maternal instinct kicks in, and she wants to clean Sarty’s face, but he refuses her comfort.

Upon arriving at their shack on the de Spain plantation, it is Mrs. Snopes who unloads the wagon, like a beast of burden. It is also she who speaks a single word to her husband when he tells Sarty to accompany him to the de Spain manor. "Abner," she says, implying that her husband should restrain himself, though she likely knows he will not. Ab silences her with a stern look, but this single word shows she has a moral sense and a basic understanding of her husband's psychology. If one wonders where Sarty gets his moral insight—since it certainly isn’t from Ab—it might be from his mother. Faulkner also reveals her love and sense of tradition when she somehow saves enough money to give Sarty a Christmas present: a chopping ax.

Mrs. Snopes faces her moral test at the same time as Sarty does, when Ab orders her to hold onto Sarty while he sneaks off to burn down the de Spain barn. The ensuing dialogue suggests that Mrs. Snopes doesn’t put up much of a fight to keep Sarty from escaping to warn Major de Spain. As he slips away, she cries, "I can't," indicating she feels she shouldn’t let him go—but she doesn’t make a significant effort to stop him. Her capacity for self-assertion is smaller than Sarty's, but it sets a precedent for his actions.

Mr. Harris
When the story "Barn Burning" begins, Mr. Harris is the landlord and employer of Abner Snopes. Snopes has set fire to Harris's barn, prompting Harris to press charges. The case is being heard by the local justice of the peace at the general store. Mr. Harris, feeling wronged, recounts his grievance: Abner's hog had repeatedly wandered into Harris's cornfield, causing damage. Harris advised Abner to secure the pig and even provided wire to repair the pigpen. However, Abner neglected to use the wire, leaving the pigpen in disrepair. When the hog escaped again, Harris locked it in his barn as compensation for the damage. Abner then sent a messenger to Harris with the warning, "wood and hay kin burn," which Harris correctly interpreted as a threat. Soon after, Harris's barn was set ablaze.

During the hearing, Harris suggests that Sarty, Abner's son, testify, implying that Sarty knows the truth about his father's arson. Harris's suggestion serves as a catalyst for Sarty's moral awakening. However, Harris decides not to force Sarty to testify, much to the boy's relief, as Sarty was ready to reveal the truth, which would have embarrassed his father. As a result, Sarty feels a moral obligation to Mr. Harris.

Mother
See Lennie Snopes

Colonel Sartoris Snopes
See Sarty

Mrs. Snopes
See Lennie Snopes