A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines - Essay Example

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines Background information A Gathering of Old Men occurs in Marshall Plantation situated in Bayonne Louisiana. The gathering is brought about by the revelations that Beau Baton, the plantations’ work boss, has been brutally murdered at the initial stages of the novel. Beau’s body is discovered by Candy Marshall, the plantations partial owner and overseer. Candy discovers the body in Mathu’s compound; thus, she believes that Mathu is responsible for the murder. However, she wants to protect him since he is her foster father. As a result, she acts quickly and invites everyone staying within the precincts of the plantation. After Miss Merle’s arrival, Candy confesses to her that she was the one who had killed Beau. Merle does not believe her, and together, they decide to bring local men together with their shotguns so that they make it difficult for Sherriff Mapes to solve the crime. All the men arrive with their shotguns and are willing to co-operate. As anticipated, Sheriff Mapes arrive to investigate the crime. The first two people he summons both confess to have commite the crime. Moving to the next person, the sheriff questions Reverend Jameson. The Reverend keeps mum and does not answer him anything. Overwhelmed by anger, the sheriff punches him so hard that he falls to the ground (Gaines 80). The other men watching the scenario reacts to the sheriff’s action and lines up to be slapped too. The sheriff is so amazed by this sense of solidarity and their readiness to confess. He stops questioning them. Charlie’s absence from the men present in Mathu’s homestead is noticeable. This is because he was the one working closely with Beau. However, the sheriff does not pay much attention to his absenteeism since he views him as a weak individual who can not harm any one. His main suspect is Mathu since he has always openly demonstrated his hatred towards the local whites. Therefore, the sheriff believes that Mathu is the only one who can commit the murder (Gillis). On the contrary, he can not make any arrests since he does not have any evidence that links anyone to the murder. Furthermore, more black men come out to confess killing Beau. They claim that they were retaliating the killing of their son for a crime he did not commit, raping of their sisters and the killing of their brothers for no reason. Mapes is compelled to stay at the crime scene since he is confident that Fix, a white man known for lynching blacks will come with his men to avenge Beau’s death (Bryan). As the sheriff, he is bound to stay to maintain law and order. The sheriff strong belief that Mathu could be the murderer prompts him to arrest Mathu. However, before taking him away, Charlie comes to the picture. He confesses that he was the one who killed Beau (Gaines 110). He explains himself that he committed the crime after being threatened by Beau. He also revealed that he had convinced Mathu to take the blame before fleeing. However, he asserts that he had come back to speak the truth and take responsibility of his actions. After revealing his confession, Charlie is arrested by the sheriff. Before they leave Mathu’s compound to the police station, Luke Will and his group of whites arrive demanding Charlie to be handed over to them for lynching (Attaining manhood). Mapes refuses and they shoot him. On seeing this, the black men immediately withdraw their shot guns and a gruesome battle ensues. The white men did not expect this retaliation and one of them is slightly injured (Attaining manhood). The primary battle takes place between Luke Will and Charlie. The two men strongly fight to finish one another. Eventually, Charlie shoots Luke Will before he is shot. He dies a hero and everyone in the area pays tribute to his dead body. On the other hand, all the individuals involved in the shootout are charged in a court of law and given five years probation each. Analysis The novel, A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines brings out many themes and various areas of concern to light. However, the main one that takes center centre throughout the novel is that of old American men obtaining their manhood and rising to the occasion to vehemently support what they believe in. This is best explicated in the way the old black men decided to stand up for one another after keeping quiet for along time, and countless enduring of abuse and humiliation (Attaining manhood). Their .action makes them appear men in their own eyes. Filled with courage, they face a strong challenge together, instead of hiding or running away from it. Mathu is a perfect example of a man who has always stood for what he believes in. He is portrayed as a man who stands for his values and dignity, and one who does not entertain the abuse committed to the blacks by the white men. His strong stance on his values makes him the prime suspect in Beau’s murder case. The drive to attain manhood begins at the onset of the novel. The first two characters to show maturity in their actions are Mat and Chimley. After receiving a call to go to Mathu’s homestead, they concur that this time they would need extra strength crawling under the bed than it would for standing against Fix and his company (Gillis). In addition to that, mat asserts that going to Mathu’s homestead may be his last opportunity to do something worthwhile with his life. This shows that, they were ready to overcome their fears, become brave, and voluntarily walk into an extremely dangerous situation. During the interrogation of the old men, they showed another aspect of their masculinity and manhood. When sheriff Maples slap Reverend Jameson for keeping mum, the other men line up and asked to be slapped (Gillis). They did not look at their feet; instead, they looked Maples straight in the eye. Their increasing strength and solidarity amazed Maples. He therefore stopped interrogating them for some time till in the afternoon. The manner in which these old men stood firm shows masculinity and maturity of their manhood. They were willing to endure any physical pain to ensure that one of them who had committed the crime go scot free. Masculinity and manhood is fully revealed in Charlie’s character. At the onset of the novel, Charlie is portrayed as the most fearful of all the black men. Everyone dismissed the thought of him being the killer (Gaines 184). Despite the fact that he had been bullied for long by Beau, he had never stood up to defend himself or answer back. However, his timid nature changes when beau threatens to kill him. He gathers courage and defends himself; thus, killing Beau. Frightened, he talks with Mathu to take the blame for him as he goes into hiding. He does not stay hiding for long; he realizes what he needs to do. Therefore, he leaves the swamp, his hiding place and goes back to Mathu’s homestead. He finds Mathu being rounded by Maples and confesses that he was the one who had committed the murder. Everyone is surprised since they had always considered him as a weakling. He asserts that he wanted the world to know that he was a man, and the one responsible for Beau’s death (Gaines 187). From the time of his confession to his death, he was the man in control; he took away the attention from Maples, Lou Dimes and Luke Will. Charlie’s masculinity is also seen in the way he struggled to kill Luke Will before he was also shot to death. In his death, he was viewed as a hero and a man. Candy also plays a role in developing the theme of masculinity and manhood. She instructs the old men to come with shot guns to Mathu’s compound since she believes that numerous guns will complicate the situation making it impossible to be solved by the sheriff. In addition to that, she compels them to have guns with empty shells (Jolley). This aspect of forcing the men to have guns with empty shells emphasizes her hierarchical position above them. Furthermore, it shows that she did not recognize them as strong men who can make their own decisions. Candy’s behavior is considered as an abuse to masculinity since in the contemporary society, men are not supposed to take orders from women. Conclusion In conclusion, the novel, A Gathering of Old Men has demonstrated the importance of masculinity in the society. Charlie together with the eighteen men has clearly shown how they stepped up their game to their surprise to fight racial discrimination and abuse. Works Cited “Attaining manhood.” Book Rags, n.d. Web. 20 March 2012 from http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/3/8/223251/7423 Bryan, B. “A Gathering of Old Men.”Amazon, 2 November 2003. Web. 20 March 2012 from http://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Old-Men-Ernest-Gaines/dp/0679738908 Jolley, Daniel. “A brilliant, moving story of race relations and humanity.”Amazon, 27 March 2003. Web. 20 March 2012 from http://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Old-Men-Ernest-Gaines/dp/0679738908 Gaines, Ernest. “A Gathering of Old Men.” New York: Vintage Publishers, 1992. Print. Gillis, Charles. “A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines - LSC-Kingwood.” Lone Star College System, 08 October 2004. Web 20 march 2012 from http://www.lonestar.edu/library/kin_GatherOldMen.htm Mardol, A. “Moving and Powerful.” Amazon, 21 July 2008. Web. 20 March 2012 from http://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Old-Men-Ernest-Gaines/product-reviews/0679738908/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R3E6RSHJUQ8LX9 Read More