Gathering of Old Men rejection
In Ernest J. Gaines' novel, A Gathering of Old Men, I found no part in the story to be interesting. The novel was completely centered on one event, and one house. To be very honest about it, this is one of the worst books I have ever read. The main characters seemed very dull and only a select few times did they seem to be getting something done. Mathu is a good example of a dull character. In the story, Mathu was always sitting around his house. Be it on his porch or in the yard, he is always sitting. Mathu was squatting against the wall with that old double barrel shotgun in his arms. (Page 6) Mathu also shows traits I dislike when the people started to gather around his house. Instead of telling them to leave and let him take the blame, he let them stay and claim they murdered Beau. "Tell them to go home, Mathu," Mapes said. "That's up to them, Sheriff." "They'll do it if you tell them to do it," Mapes said. "Tell them to go home before there's trouble." "Mathu, you don't have to answer any questions," Candy said. She hadn't
left his side since he stepped to the ground. "He can take you to jail if he wants to, but he can't force you to talk. Not until Clinton gets here." "I don't mind talking," Mathu said. (Page 85) "Papa," Gil said. "All my life I have heard what my family have done to others. I hear it today-from the blacks, from the whites. I hear it from the opponents even when we play in another town. Don't tackle me too hard, because they would have to answer to the rest of the Boutans. It hurts me to hear that, Papa. It hurts me in here," he said, hitting his chest. "It hurts because I know it's not true." (Page 137) Miss Merle just scared me throughout the entire novel. She was always parading around preaching to herself and talking to people as if she were the queen of the world. Not only driving around and visiting people's houses, she seemed to always be on the move no matter what she was doing. To pick on Candy a little bit, I found that she claims to be good person and a protector of her people. In reality, she is hiding behind
Some common words found in the essay are:
Papa Gil, Dirty Red, Ernest Gaines', Mapes Tell, Miss Merle, Gil Boutan, dirty red, Mathu Page, Sheriff They'll, Beau Tell, tell home, dirty looking,
Approximate Word count = 707
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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