Who murdered Mr. Barnett in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?
In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, T.J., R.W., and Melvin go to the mercantile to get the pearl-handled pistol. Although the mercantile is closed when they arrive, the Simms brothers decide to go in and get the pistol anyway. If Mr. Barnett sees them, they can simply say they needed the pistol right away but would pay for it on Monday.
Things do not go as planned. T.J. enters through a window. As he opens the door for the Simms brothers, T.J. notices they are wearing masks. This leads him to believe that the brothers are there for more than just the pistol. After getting the pistol, R.W. and Melvin attempt to break a lock on a cabinet to gain access to the cash box inside. R.W. hits the lock with an axe and the noise causes Mr. Barnett and his wife to investigate. They discover the boys...
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in the store and after a brief scuffle, R.W. hits Mr. Barnett on the head. Mr. Barnett is only injured at the time but later dies as a result of his injury.
What role does Mr. Barnett play in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?
Jim Lee Barnett is the owner of Barnett Mercantile in Strawberry, the biggest general store in town. Barnett is like so many other white men of the era: He believes African Americans are second-class citizens and that they should know their place in Deep South society. "Whose little nigger is this?" Barnett bellows after Cassie "hissed" at him. Barnett tells Stacey to
"... make sure she don't come back till yo' mammy teach her what she is." (Chapter 5)
Barnett is a racist and a businessman who is perfectly happy to take money from Negroes but only as long as they are willing to wait quietly until all of his white customers are served first. His behavior is not unlike most of the other white men in the story--at least he does not physically manhandle Cassie like Mr. Simms--and his character is that of a Good Ol' Boy who believes in the white supremacy of the races. Later in the story, "that ole devil" Barnett becomes a sympathetic character--at least to some--after he and his wife are beaten by robbers, their injuries setting off a lynch party for T.J.