Burdens of Poverty

A detailed Summary of Burdens of Poverty


In the short story "The Sky is Gray", Ernest J. Gaines shows the struggles, inflicted by poverty, in an eight-year-old boys life. This poor, Negro boy, James, lives with his mother and five other relatives while his father is away. The fact that his father is gone to war, his mother is a very proud woman, and James' not wanting to be a financial burden on his mother, all take a toll in making James' life tougher.

James' father is drafted into the early part of World War 2. This leaves James' mother to raise the children and support the entire family. In effect the family has very little money. The family doesn't own a car and barely has money to ride the bus to town.

At times it seems as if James is starving. His clothes don't even keep him warm in the cold. Times are hard for the family when


Taking the portion of meat that the woman offered would have saved the family some money. Another example of how Octavia's pride costs the family money occurs in the cafe. Octavia and James are walking in the cold waiting on James to go to the dentist. They step into the cafe to warm up. Octavia feels that she is obligated to make a purchase at the cafe because she is using their heat. This puts a dent in the family's finances and makes life a little more rough for James.

James' mother, Octavia, is a very proud woman. Her pride has an effect on James' life. She does not accept any form of charity. An old woman offers Octavia and James some food, but Octavia declines the offer until James does some chores for the woman. James had to work instead of getting a free meal because his mother would not let him accept c

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Approximate Word count = 558
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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