| A Gathering of Old Men (1983) by Ernest J. Gaines is 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. The brutal white sheriff conducts his investigation as the old men await the revenge of the dead man's relatives, who have a fearsome, longstanding reputation for exacting vigilante justice against black people. By the end of the day, there have been many surprises, and many of the characters have changed in ways that they could not have imagined. The conclusion of the novel hints that although the wounds of the past run deep and still influence the present, times are changing, and in the future, black people can hold out hope for a new era in which everyone is treated equally under the law.
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's Political/social activism Yes Plotlet: Ethnic/Regional/Religion Other aspects: Crime & Police story Yes Story of 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: - 60's-90's Main Adversary How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 () Small town? Yes Small town people: - very gullible, like Gomer Pyle Writing Style Lot of foul language? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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