A Gathering of Old Men
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A Gathering of Old Men
A novel set in the fictional St. Raphael's Parish in rural Louisiana on a Friday afternoon in October in the late 1970s; published in 1983.
by Ernest J. Gaines
Synopsis
The murder of a Cajun farmer brings together a group of elderly black men eager for revenge.
The Novel in Focus
Events in History at the Time of the Novel
Ernest J. Gaines was born January 15, 1933, in Oscar, Louisiana, and began his life among cotton pickers in the old slaves' quarters at River Lake Plantation. Although he moved as a teenager to California and now lives most of the year in San Francisco, Gaines returns in real life each year and repeatedly in his fiction to southern Louisiana. Following the highly successful The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, (also covered in Literature and Its Times), A Gathering of Old Men continues the exploration of race, gender, and color central to Gaines's writing.
For More Information
Babb, Valerie Melissa. Ernest Gaines. Boston: Twayne, 1991.
Carleton, Mark T. Politics and Punishment: The History of the Louisiana State Penal System. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1971.
Charney, Mark J. "Voice and Perspective in the Film Adaptations of Gaines's Fiction." In Critical Reflections on the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines. Edited by David C. Estes. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994.
Cooper, William J., and Thomas E. Terrill. The American South: A History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Dominguez, Virginia R. White by Definition: Social Classification in Creole Louisiana. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1986.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Gathering of Old Men. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.
Gaudet, Marcia, and Carl Wooton. Porch Talk with Ernest Gaines: Conversations on the Writer's Craft. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press,1990.
Laney, Ruth. "A Conversation with Ernest Gaines" Southern Review n.s. 10 (1974): 3.
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A Gathering of Old Men
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A Gathering of Old Men
| A Gathering of Old Men | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Ernest J. Gaines |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Publication date | 1983 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 213 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-394-51468-8 |
| OCLC Number | 9682782 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 19 |
| LC Classification | PS3557.A355 G3 1983 |
A Gathering of Old Men is a novel by Ernest J. Gaines published in 1983.
Set on a 1970s Louisiana cane farm, the novel addresses racial discrimination and a bond that cannot be usurped.
Plot summary
One afternoon, a white woman, Candy, discovers that a Cajun farmer, Beau Boutan, has been shot in Mathu's, a black man's, yard. She enlists the help of seventeen other old black men by having them come to Mathu's yard, each with a shotgun and one empty number 5 shell. She and the men all claim to be responsible for the murder, in an effort to protect the guilty party. Meanwhile, the Sheriff Mapes arrives to the scene to arrest the real murderer(most likely Mathu, as he was the only black man who stood up against racism and the Boutans.) The Sherriff also wishes to keep Beau's father, Fix Boutan, from coming to lynch the blacks.
Film adaptation
Main article: A Gathering of Old Men (film)
In 1987 Volker Schlöndorff, a famous German director, made a film, also titled A Gathering of Old Men (aka Murder on the Bayou), which adheres closely to the novel. It stars Richard Widmark (as Sheriff Mapes), Louis Gossett Jr. (as Mathu), Holly Hunter (as Candy), Joe Seneca (as Clatoo), and Will Patton (as Lou Dimes).
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Copyrights:
Gale Notable Literature & Its History
Literature and Its Times © 1997 Joyce Moss and George Wilson © 2007 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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