Papa was justified in setting fire to the cotton because he was trying to protect his family and the Averys.
Papa had to do something because things had become very serious. The Wallaces were determined to hang as many of them as they could in response to the robbery of the Barnetts. Starting the fire was a desperate but necessary act.
T.J. arrives injured at the Logan house in the middle of the night. As Cassie listens to Mr. Morrison, T.J. shows up. He explains that he has been beaten up by the Simms. He says something is “busted.”
“Tell me how come they did this to you.”
“’Cause... ’cause I said I was gonna tell what happened.”
Stacey and I looked at each other, then together leaned closer to T.J. “Tell what?” we asked (Ch. 11).
T.J. is worried because he thinks his father will throw him out if he finds out, so he went to the Logans for help. Stacey makes him explain what happened, and he tells them that he and the Simms boys broke into the store and attacked the Barnetts, where he stole a pearl-handled pistol. When T.J. said that he was going to tell what happened, the Simms boys turned on him.
The children go to T.J.’s house. They see the Wallaces drag the Averys out of their house. They even attack T.J.'s brother Claude, injuring him badly. The children are frightened and want to get help. The Wallaces see T.J. and drag him out. He still has the gun from the store and they know he was one of the robbers.
Mr. Jamison arrives at this time, and the Wallaces are annoyed he is interrupting. They tell him not to interfere, and he says that Hank Wade, the sheriff, is on his way. Wade tells them Mr. Granger does not want any hangings on his place. Stacey asks Cassie to go get her father.
Cassie tells her father what happened, including what happened to Claude. He is worried because Stacey is still there. Papa starts to get a shotgun, but Mama argues with him.
“You fire on them and they’ll hang you for sure. They’d like nothing better.”
“If I don’t, they’ll hang T.J. This thing’s been coming a long time, baby, and T.J. just happened to be the one foolish enough to trigger it. But, fool or not, I can’t just sit by and let them kill the boy. And if they find Stacey—” (Ch. 12)
Papa has a problem because his son is in danger and he does not want the Averys to be hanged. How does he stop the violence without causing more himself? Mama is right. Shooting would just elevate the situation and make things even worse. It would also make Papa at fault. The justice system does not favor people of color; it favors the whites.
Papa leaves, telling Mama he will do what he has to do, and so will she. He has an idea, but does not tell her what it is. They smell smoke and realize the cotton is on fire, presumably because the lightning hit it.
The children are watching the fire when Jeremy Simms arrives. He had been sleeping in a tree and saw the fire. He tells them his father is helping put out the fire.
Jeremy looked rather shamefaced, and shrugged. “Well, anyway, I was and I smelled smoke. I knew it was comin’ from thisaway and I was ’fraid it was y’all’s place, so I run in and told my pa, and him and me we come on up here over an hour ago” (Ch. 11).
The children are stunned white people would be working together with them. They now have a bigger problem than lynchings. Besides destroying the Logans’ crop, the fire could spread to other people's lands. At that moment, everyone has a common goal to put out the fire.
Papa’s solution to end the violence is to burn his own cotton. That crop is very valuable, but not more valuable than human life. The cotton burning creates an emergency that causes everyone to stop the violence and work together. Papa is able to save T.J. this way, even though he risks financial ruin.
Other than losing the cotton, what Papa did was not too risky. The fire went away from the house. Everyone assumed lightning started it, so he would not be blamed. He used a creative solution to a very difficult problem, and it bought him enough time to save lives.
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