In literature, fathers were seldom portrayed as real people capable of making major contributions to their children's development. Only when there was paternal absence, neglect, abuse, or other overtly negative dynamics was father's influence likely to be stand out. We will see that Barn Burning is actually the story of an initiation that will lead to the boy's final refusal to help and support his father. By denouncing this one, Sarty will claim his own individuality and will gain his independence and freedom. The opposition of sharecropper (Mr. Snopes) and aristocrat (Mr. de Spain) suggests social implications. Several elements refer to this possibility. The father points out that de Spain's house is built with "nigger sweat" as well as the white sweat of the sharecropper. He seems to view himself as a victim of an unfair socio-economic system: he "burns with a ravening and jealous rage."(P.169), he is the "element of fire", the narrator speaks to "some deep mainspring" of Mr. Snopes being "as the element of steel or powder spoke to other men, as one weapon for the preservation of integrity ...used with discretion."
