| Because of the limited schooling available to black children, Maria and William Martin move from their small sharecropper farm to a large, southern city to allow their two sons to receive an education during the great depression. While illiterate William struggles to find sufficient work, Maria is able to supplement the family income with washing and doing domestic chores.
Sam, the younger son, is obsessed with bettering himself and succeeding. He confronts discrimination and subjugation but presses on despite the penalities placed upon him by society. His brother, John Henry, decides that the time used studying is better spent forging connections with powerful white men. When John Henry becomes a calamitous victim of his own bad choices, Sam blames his brother's experience on the color of his skin. As Sam grows up, he fosters a hatred that seeks revenge against the ruling white society that committed a terrible injustice to his brother. When this hate brings further hardships to his friends and family, Sam questions where his life is headed. Tell It Not In Gath," describes the environment in which southern blacks were forced to live and the system that inhibited the advancement of Africian-Americans. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - very sensitive (sigh) Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's Political/social activism Yes Plotlet: Ethnic/Regional/Religion Other aspects: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - society Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 () United States Yes The US: - Deep South City? Yes Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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