Earnest J. Gaines

born in 1933 during the Great Depression in Louisiana the setting for most of his fiction

Son of a sharecropper, Gaines was only a few generations removed from slavery and the end of the Civil War.

Raised by his maternal aunt

Earnest J. Gaines

Even though all the slaves were free, Gaines recalls living, eating, and working like a slave At the age of nine he was picking cotton in the

plantation fields

When he was fifteen, Gaines moved to California to join his parents, who had left Louisiana during World War II. There he attended San Francisco State

University and later won a writing fellowship to Stanford University.

Earnest J. Gaines

In all his work, Gaines produces honest representations of the African-American experience—one that is harsh and difficult, but by no means devoid of hope

Nominated for both the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize

Gaines’ Works

Gaines’ writing offers understanding for readers of all colors, background and class

His works tackle the issues of manhood for men of color the breakdown in personal relationships as a result of

social pressures the history and folklore of a distant past illustrate the thirty years before the civil rights era.

effects of history and the continuing struggle of African Americans

A Gathering of Old Men

Published in 1983

Set on a 1970s Louisiana cane farm

The novel addresses racial discrimination and a bond that cannot be usurped.

Summary of A Gathering of Old Men

A novel about race relations in the American South. The action takes place over the course of one day in rural Louisiana. A white man has been shot dead and lies in the yard of a black man’s house. Eighteen old black men gather at the house and each claims that he is responsible for the killing.

Summary Cont.

The white sheriff conducts and investigation as the old men wait the revenge of the dead man’s relatives. By the end of the day, there are many surprises and many characters have changed in ways that they could not have predicted when they work up that morning.

Structure/Point of View

20 short chapters 15 different narrators (10 black, 5 white) Uses black dialect and standard English Uses direct and indirect characterization First person

Historical Context

Lynching: 2,805 documented lynching between 1882

and 1930, in 10 southern states.90% of the victims were African Americans.

Averages to be about 1 per week during the years mentioned.

Many victims were tortured and mutilated before their deaths and parts of their bodies were sold as souvenirs.

Lynching Cont.

The 4 states with the worst records were:Mississippi (463)Georgia (423)Louisiana (283) Alabama (262)

*In Pointed Coupee parish, where Gaines grew up, there were 6 lynchings between 1881-1908. The last recorded lynching in the US was in 1968.

Lynching Cont.

Reasons: Murder, robbery and rape Acting suspiciously Gambling, quarreling, adultery Acting improper with a white woman Arguing with a white man Being obnoxious Insulting a white man or woman Demanding respect Trying to vote Voting for the wrong part

Decline of lynching/mob violence

Declined after World War II (1945) Ku Klux Klan membership declined

By 1950, Klan consisted mostly of poorly educated whites

Civil Rights: 1950-1960

New era of race relations in the south Secured voting and other rights Made discrimination illegal

However, in rural south, change was VERY slow.

And, African Americans did not always have full protection of the law.

Today Racial Justice: Alabama and Mississippi

are now the two states with the highest number of African Americans elected to government offices.

Today Cont.

Capital Punishment: experts regard death penalty as unfair because it affects black people disproportionately.Those executed for interracial murder, only 11

were whites who killed blacks167 were blacks who killed whites.

Today Cont.

Lynching/racial violence:Although rare, there incidents of racial

violence still take place. In 1998, James Byrd, a black man in Jasper, TX,

died after being chained to a truck and dragged behind it by three white men.

Themes: Racism

Racism:Novel takes place in late 1970’s.Many still suffered from discrimination and

abuse for several generations.Whites use “nigger”.The law looks the other way or accepts white

version of events.

Theme: Attaining Manhood

When the old black men decide to stand up for themselves after a lifetime in which they have endured humiliation and abuse, they finally become men in their own eyes, earning their own dignity.

Theme: Interdependence

Races can not succeed working independent of each other.

Example: Government, sports teams…

Theme: Race inside of Race

The whites separate themselves from the Cajun whites.

The blacks separate themselves based on the darkness of their skin.

Theme: Change

Change habits of a lifetime Almost all characters go through some

form of change

Symbols

Tractor Sugar Cane Guns

Main Characters

Candy Marshall: Protagonist, tries to protect the accused (Mathu).

Beau Bauton: Dead, important due to his symbolic role. Represents social order that has subjugated the blacks throughout history. Linked to violence of the past.

Main Characters Cont.

Sheriff Mapes: 60 yrs old, white, seems to be a classic racists, but is more complex. Capable of understanding and change.

Mathu: lives on property, accused of crime, most believe he killed Beau.