Abner Snopes cannot afford any education for his children, cannot afford to buy a house, he cannot even afford to buy enough food for his family. He works continuously from day to day but still lives with his family in small shacks that "ain't fitten for hawgs"(505).The scene where Abner buys a "little piece of cheese" for dinner and divides it equally among his family members demonstrates that Abner is a fair man; that is why he becomes discouraged when he sees the injustice of the society. The economic injustice that Abner endures after the Civil War humiliates him and makes him to become a barn burner. .
Abner Snopes" family "owns one wagonload of possessions", which are called the "sorry residue of the "twelve movings"(498). Family possessions include only mother's small "dowry: a clock, inlaid with mother-of-pearl that long ago stopped running", along with other things: a "battered stove," "broken beds and chairs," (507) a "battered lantern," and "a worn broom" (507). Mrs. Snopes" "broken" and "worn" dowry emphasizes the poverty of the family. Constant moving form one farm to another indicates family instability and dependence on the father of the family, Abner Snopes. .
Gundareva 3.
The scene where Abner Snopes with his son comes to Major de Spain house and sees all the luxury of de Spain lifestyle emphasizes Abner's desperation with his position in the society. .
Abner Snopes observes the colossal differences amid the houses and possessions, sees the "contrast between their horses", however it gets even worse when Abner realizes that de Spain has servants, which wear better clothing and eat better food that his own children. Major de Spain's servant, whom Abner thinks of a lower class and says, "Get out of my way, nigger," (503) is dressed in fine linen, while the Snopes family dresses shabbily and his son's Sarty shirt is "rotten" and "falling apart because it has been washed so many times" (504).