Mr. Harris is a fellow farmer and a neighbor of the Snopes family at the beginning of the story, who takes Abner to trial for burning his barn, after Mr. Harris complained about Abner’s hog constantly getting into his own pen. While he initially asks the judge to make Sarty testify against his own father, he ultimately gives up and retracts his wish.
Mr. Harris Quotes in Barn Burning
The Barn Burning quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Harris or refer to Mr. Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Vintage edition of Barn Burning published in 1995.
).
Barn Burning
Quotes
He could not see the table where the Justice sat and before which his father and his father’s enemy (our enemy he thought in that despair, ourn! mine and him both! He’s my father!) stood.
Related Characters:
Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes (speaker), Abner Snopes, Mr. Harris, The Justice (I)
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Harris Character Timeline in Barn Burning
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Harris appears in Barn Burning. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Barn Burning
The Justice asks the other man (the enemy), Mr. Harris, for his proof. Mr. Harris says that Abner’s opponent’s hog got into his corn several...
(full context)
Since Mr. Harris doesn’t know anything more about the man who threatened him, the Justice says this doesn’t...
(full context)
...must tell the truth, while the boy continues to think “enemy” when he looks at Harris. He doesn’t notice the justice’s kind face or worried tone when he asks Harris if...
(full context)
Finally, after a long pause, Harris violently curses and yells, “No!” For Sarty, time seemed to have halted, but now begins...
(full context)