That Sarty's mother is so opposed to her husband's actions — to the point that she is brutally abused by him — foreshadows Sarty's own opposition to this senseless and violent crime. When his father orders him to get more oil, he briefly hesitates. He is faced with three options: He can go along with his father, thus becoming a co-conspirator in the crime; he can "run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again"; or he can try either to stop his father or warn de Spain. Sarty embraces this third option when he pleads with his father, "Ain't you going to even send a nigger? . . . At least you sent a nigger before!" We recall that in the story's initial courtroom scene, Mr. Harris claimed that a black man delivered a threatening message to him from Snopes; now, Snopes is not going to give de Spain any warning.
Before Snopes leaves the house, he instructs his wife to hold Sarty tightly, knowing that his son will warn de Spain of the impending barn burning and thwart his revenge. He now knows, with certainty, that Sarty is torn between loyalty to his family and his need to enforce principles of justice.
After his father leaves, Sarty tries to break loose from his mother; his aunt, who joins in his pleas to let him go, threatens to go herself to warn de Spain. Ultimately, we realize, the aunt, the mother, and Sarty are all on the same side — the side of justice. This fact is important to note because, otherwise, we might consider Sarty an anomaly, but with his mother and aunt's agreeing with him, his role as an advocate of justice is more convincing.
As soon as he is free, Sarty runs to de Spain's, bursts into the house, and cries out, "Barn! . . . Barn!" He then flees down the road and is almost run over by de Spain on a galloping horse, headed for his barn. Sarty begins to run again, and suddenly he hears one gunshot followed by two more. He stops and yells, "Pap! Pap!" — his affectionate term for his father. Blindly running again, he falls down and calls out, "Father! Father!" There is little doubt that his father is dead.
