A Gathering of Old Men: the Characters in Gaines’ Novel

Race has always been an issue in Louisiana. The characters in Gaines novel attempt to dissolve racial tension in the South. All of the black men compile together at the orchard so the lynching mob wont attempt to fill out them. Salt and Pepper, a black and a fair footb wholly star, play together at LSU in the novel. This demonstrates racial cooperation. The novel takes place in Bayonne, Louisiana on the Marsh either Plantation. The plantations white boss, Beau, is found murdered at the start of the novel.Candy Marshall, part owner of the plantation, finds the body near Mathus house. Mathu was somewhat of a foster parent to Candy. Candy gathers a crew of old men to the plantation with shotguns and empty shells to confess to the murder. She does this so the alleged killer, Mathu, wont be lynched. Lynching is how many racial crimes in Louisiana at this time were handled. The old men stay at the plantation all day, not knowing who actually committed the crime. Mapes, a white sheriff, is depicted as a veritable(prenominal) racist.He uses aggression towards the men to try to solve the crime. This was the typical approach of Louisiana deputies towards blacks. Towards the end of the novel, Mapes shows that he has great respect for Mathu. In this novel Gaines shows the racial difficulties in Louisiana at this time. This is shown through the fright of the black community. They were afraid of being lynched for a crime they might not have committed. The men all gather together to take a stand against racist whites. He also shows that this was the beginning of racial equality.This is shown by the harmony between Salt and Pepper on and off of the football field. Gaines paints a solid picture of the Louisiana lifestyle at this point in history. He shows the racial struggles in police force enforcement, daily lifestyle, and sports. Being from Louisiana and knowing what I do about our historical culture I would say that in Gaines novel he describes rattling well what L ouisiana life was like at this time. I chose to do my report on this book because I believe that racism is a very large part of Louisiana history.