Editor's Choice
In "Barn Burning," what do you assume happens to Snopes' father, brother, and the Major's barn?
Quick answer:
Snopes, who has burned Major de Spain's barn, is on trial for the fire. Sarty tells the story of his family's involvement with Major de Spain. Ab Snopes and his family are a poor family but have a hard working father and two older sons, Abner Jr., and Val. They live in a small cabin that is only accessible by walking through mud or stepping over the creek. Major de Spain is an educated man who treats his slaves well, unlike those in surrounding areas. He owns a large plantation that includes many slaves. When Snopes's youngest son, Sarty, goes to visit Major de Spain's daughter Fonsiba he witnesses Abner Junior and Val arguing with one of major de Spain'As your question implies, because Faulkner uses ambiguity very skillfully to cloud the reader's view of Snopes's actions at Major de Spain's barn and, perhaps more importantly, what the shots signify, the reader is left to construct the final scene. There are, however, elements within the story that allow the reader to make educated assumptions about the violent ending.
The story begins with Snopes on trial for being suspected of burning Mr. Harris's barn after a dispute for which Snopes is clearly at fault. And although Mr. Harris has no concrete evidence of Snopes's guilt, he does know that a messenger hired by Snopes came to deliver a message to Harris:
He say to tell you wood and hay kin burn.
This testimony, unfortunately, was not admissible because the messenger could not be produced to give direct evidence. For the reader, though, the possibility of Snopes's guilt becomes quite clear.
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This testimony, unfortunately, was not admissible because the messenger could not be produced to give direct evidence. For the reader, though, the possibility of Snopes's guilt becomes quite clear.
Snopes's dispute with Major de Spain is, like the first dispute, entirely Snopes's fault, and the outcome—having to give Major de Spain ten bushels of corn for having wrecked de Spain's rug—sets up another confrontation in which Snopes's vengefulness takes a familiar form. In an example of foreshadowing (one of Faulkner's favorite literary techniques—see "A Rose for Emily"), Faulkner presents us with an irate Sarty who, after the verdict, tries to comfort his father with "He [Major de Spain] won't git no ten bushels neither. He won't git one." Mr. Snopes answers this with a very ominous statement: "You think so. Well, we'll wait until October anyway." This is a subtle hint, but given the probable barn burning at the story's beginning, a close reading will allow the reader to conclude that Snopes is planning some form of retribution.
Snopes's plan to burn de Spain's barn begins with his collection of all the available oil around the cabin, and the fact that he is preparing to carry this plan to fruition is obvious in his wife's comments, "Abner! No! No! Oh, God. Abner!" A second sign of his intent is his order to his wife to hold Sarty—because Snopes believes Sarty will give de Spain some warning, which Sarty accomplishes when he breaks free of his mother's grip. These elements—the collection of the oil, the distress of Mrs. Snopes, and the order to restrain Sarty—are clearly meant to lead the reader to conclude that another barn burning is in progress.
That Snopes succeeded in burning the barn is evident in the final scene when Sarty is escaping from his family. As he recovers from almost being run down by a rider and horse (likely de Spain), Sarty describes the scene:
For an instant in furious silhouette against the stars . . . strained abruptly and violently upward: a long, swirling roar incredible and soundless, blotting the stars. . . .
In the context of what has just happened, the "soundless" roar that blots out the stars can only be the fire of de Spain's barn as it is consumed by Snopes's revenge.
The three shots Sarty hears can be understood to be the result of de Spain's arrival at the barn. Of the three shots, the first was most likely from Snopes, which missed, and the second two were from de Spain; considering his obvious military background, it is likely that he dispatched Snopes and Sarty's older brother, Ab.
Faulkner's use of ambiguity certainly creates insecurity in the reader, but a close reading allows the reader to make very strong assumptions about the end. However, the reader is always left with a slight uneasiness; assumptions, even good ones, are not the same as certainty.