Old Black Men In The Story example essay topic

Ernest J. Gaines was born on January 15, 1933, in Oscar, Louisiana. Many of his stories and characters are set in the swamplands of Louisiana. His target audience is Black southern youth; his goal is to give them a sense of pride in their heritage. Recently, Gaines participated in the conference 'Black and White Perspectives on the American South,' which intended to examine how the two races view themselves and the relations to one another.

In the book A Gathering of old men, there was lots of symbolism throughout the scenes. Tthe book describes the transaction from the old south to the new south, a south that depends on the the co-existence of blacks and whites. In order for this too take place some old black men are going to have to stand up for themselves when a white cajun farmer by the name of Beau is murdered. The old black men in the story will have to face up to a racist sheriff by the name of Mapes.

Beau Boutans brother Gil, who plays fullback for Louisiana State University, and depends on a black running back, is getting tired of his family violent name. He comes home to confront his dad Fix Boutan. By doing this Gil represents a new southern way. The man who murdered Beau, Charlie, was a very large man. He had been running away from his fears since he was a kid, but on this fateful day all that would change. It was finally time for Charlie to become a man after so many years.

In one of the scenes from the book A Gathering of Old Men, the old men gathered around the Sheriff Mapes who symbolized white power with his gigantic size and his authority. Mapes was trying to figure out who had killed Beau Boutan. Their stories all came down to the same conclusion as the next mans story. They were fed up with verbal and physical abuse of from the Boutans. Mapes in all his years never seen such a sight or better yet a boldness in the eyes and mouths of the old black men. Even though he cursed them and hit them to get the truth, the old black men kept their stories, that they were all guilty of the murder of Beau Boutan.

Before Mat left his house, one of the old black men, he and his wife got into an argument. She did not want him to be involved in what was going on. With tears of past hurt coming down his face he told her how for many years he has helped the white man get richer and the black man get poorer. He told her he was going down there for the time he seen Oliver bleed to death in a hospital because he was black. He went on to join the rest of the old men. Mapes had his sheriff Griffin to pick people so he could interrogate them.

An old man by the name of Old Billy was the first. He came up to him and told Mapes that he had killed Beau Boutan. Mapes then hit the Old Billy. Old Billy turned back around and still said he was the guilty one.

This was quite a stand, just talking back to a white man was considered the most disrespectful thing to do. Old Billy's' courage fueled the others bravery. When asked why did he do it Billy told him how Fix, also known as William Fix Boutan, beat his son right before his eyes and he could not do anything about it. Beat him so bad that his son went crazy. They spoke of incidents from rape to murders to beatings. If Fix would have found out that there were fifteen old black men waiting on him with shotguns, Mapes was for sure that there was going to be a lynching.

At this point in the book you know that these men meant business, and for black men in the south, this was a very dangerous stand and the consequences could be death. These men represent generations of families who endured pain and humiliation from the families in Marshall, Louisiana. They were tired of running from the Boutans. There pride and pain were elements that came together to form the compound rage. In another scene where there was symbolism, Gil Boutan returned home after hearing his brother was killed. Gil, William Fix Boutans son, who was a star fullback at Louisiana State University, formed a offensive backfield with a black running back, Calvin Harrison also known as pepper.

They were the first interracial backfield in Louisiana State University history. They symbolized the new south relying on interracial cooperation. When Gil found out what had happened he went to Marshall and seen all the old black men with guns. He went on home where he met with his dad. Even though he was upset at his brothers death, he felt it was time for a change, he also felt that any retaliation would lead to him not making All-American. He was tired of the name that his family had.

Gil wanted his family to become more legit. Gil spoke for a new freedom that will benefit both blacks and whites. This angered Fix Boutan and he dis-owned his son. Fix had so much hate in his heart that he dis-owned his own flesh and blood. Candy the young owner of the Marshall plantation where the killings took place, was very compassionate toward the old men. She felt it was her duty to preserve what was left of the community that was in Marshall.

She symbolized a new freedom. Candy was willing to sacrifice her freedom for her community. Despite her good intentions, candy lives up to her historical position when she angrily, and unsuccessfully, rejects the desire of the black men to meet in private without her and she became angry with the men. Her words reveal an ironic commitment to the old south's social structure even worst than that of the Boutans. Symbolism also shows its face in the scene where Charlie, the man who killed Beau, returned home. When Charlie finally shows up during the meeting of the black men, he is a totally different man.

No longer a mental or physical slave to the bout ans. After enduring constant beatings from not only the Boutans but also his father Mathu, he finally conquered his fear. Growing up Charlie was always scared of the Boutans. His Father Mathu was very hard on him for this reason. One day while he was in the sugar cane fields working, Beau Boutan began too cuss him while he was working. After all these years Charlie has been pushed around, he finally got fed up with the humiliation of his manhood.

Charlie was a Large man, . According to the book he was six foot seven and two hundred and seventy pounds, this represents the size of rage built up in him since he was a child. Even though he was very big he could not defend himself from years of intimidation. Charlie told Mapes that he had killed Beau Boutan, and that he now deserves to be respectfully called Mr. Biggs. Even though he had run away and into the swamps, he ran into a wall that had enabled him to leave.

Not a physical wall, but a wall that was called pride and manhood. He came back to Marshall to be a man. To show everyone he was a man and that he was not scared anymore. He recognized his equality among all men of color. Even though he knew his life was in jeopardy, when he was called out in the open he went, without weapon, without fear, and he was killed. This book shows that black people have been treated bad and stereotyped for many years, and that blacks put up with a lot of things.

After putting up for some type of abuse for so long any man will stand for what he believes is right. Even though there life might be in danger, there comes a time you must stare into the face of fear. That's what these angry black men did. They stood for what they believe. The book depicts on how a change was on the horizon but still had yet to come. A man had to die for this process to begin and a man had to die for it too end.

Ernest J. Gaines was born in Bayonne, Louisiana. He has wrote some novels and has been accredited to have written some short stories. He was criticized in his stories because he felt that poor white people will except the new south, which is built on the interracial cooperation, with some or none violent rejection (Summers 93). William faulkner, a black author, said Gaines fails to see the lingering tradition of the old south, that he does not see that white people will always be white people (Vinson 93). But I fell that faulkner fails too see the character Candy was.

Even though she was on the side of the old black men, when they wanted to meet without her. She did not respect there request on the basis she thought she was still the leader or the head. Also Mapes character did respect Mathu and Charlie, but at the same time he referred to them at one points as "niggers". Gaines story depicts the coming of a south that will tolerate the co-existence of blacks and white, but he was a little to far ahead the timeline in this book, in those days there would have been a lynching without a doubt (Wert heim 123). In conclusion, Gaines touched up well on all the attitudes and stereotypes of the southern way of life, and on its objection of the co-existing between whites and blacks.