Summarizing "The Revolt of Mother"

Group One

Adoniram and Sarah had lived in the same small house all 40 years of their marriage, although he promised her a decent home within the year after their wedding. With two older children, one to be married later in the year, Adoniram decided to build a new barn in the place where the house was supposed to be.

In this time and society, women were hardly heard. Sarah tried talking to her husband about it, but he would not have any thing to do with the situation. As the barn was being completed, Adoniram had to go out of town to receive a new horse before he could move in his livestock.

While he was gone, them mother decided to stand up for what she wanted and though was best for her family. Despite how the community reacted, Sarah moved her family into the new barn. When Adoniram returned, he was shocked to find them living in the barn.

Group Two

In Freeman's short story "The Revolt of 'Mother'", there is a family of four, post civil war era that live on a farm. The main character is the mother who has been a faithful wife that has done everything her husband has asked of her with no complaints for forty years. The story starts off with mother wondering what is going on in the field. The husband does not want to answer and tries to blow her off, but to only end up finding out from her son that there is a barn being built in the place were the new house would have gone some forty promise broken years ago. Not only was there to be a new barn but cattle too. Mother went to the husband and pleaded her case on why she should have the new house instead of the new barn. She stayed quiet for forty years while time after time his promise to build the house never happened. The money and the capability were always there. While she pleaded with him, he still said nothing and finished the barn. She then does something deceptive by sending her husband away to get a new horse to buy time while she moved the old little outdated house into the barn that was just built. When it was all said and done and he came back home he was in shock but then came to realize that she really wanted it that bad. She only stood up and complained that one time to get what she wanted he finally agreed to finish it for her.

Group Three

In the post civil war era there was mounting tension between the female and male roles in the typical household. Mark E. Wilkins Freeman writes about one such family, which goes through a period of economic struggle, and lives in the same house nearing poverty for over forty years. The father figure is well respected and his wishes are often honored without question, but finally when he decides to erect a new barn for his animals, rather than renovate his out-of-date house, his wife and children revolt. They move themselves and their belongings into the newly built barn, and await their father's return home. When he arrives he is shocked to learn what has happened, and submits to his wife's wishes, and agrees to set up partitions and windows inside their new home.