gathering of old men, a - sparknotes

7/26/2019 Gathering of Old Men, A - SparkNotes

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A Gathering of Old Men

ontext

rnest J. Gaines was born on January 15, 1933 on the River Lake Plantation located in Oscar,ouisiana. His parents, Manuel and Adrienne Gaines, worked on the plantation and Ernest alsoarted working there he was just eight. By the time he was nine, he was digging potatoes for

fty cents a day. He is the oldest of eight brothers and three sisters. A major influence in hisarly life was his Aunt Augusteen. She was disabled, having no legs, so she took care of thehildren while the other adults worked. Her strength and determination influenced the youngrnest, such that strong older black women have frequently played an important role in hisction.

1948 at the age of fifteen, Gaines moved with his family to Vallejo California. In California,aines was able to receive a more thorough education than had been possible in the South. Heegan to read extensively, feeling particularly drawn to the Russian novelists, Turgenev,

olstoy, and Gogol, whom he felt taught him to write about rural people. After high school,aines enrolled in Vallejo Junior College and also served for two years in the army. Heublished his first story in 1956 in a small San Francisco magazine, Transfer. He graduatedom San Francisco State College in 1957. In the same year, he won a Wallace Stegnerellowship to study creative writing at Stanford during the academic year of 19581959.

nce graduating from Stanford, Gaines has devoted himself fully to the craft of writing. Heates that he writes "five hours a day, five days a week." His dedication has paid off. Gainesublished his first novel Catherine Carmier in 1964. Seven other novels have followed: O

ove and Dust 1967; Bloodline 1968;A Long Day in November 1971; The Autobiography oMiss Jane Pittman 1973;In My Father's House 1978;A Gathering of Old Men 1983; andA

esson Before Dying 1993. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,A Lesson Before Dying,ndA Gathering of Old Men were also made into television movies, thereby popularizingaines's work. Gaines currently is a professor at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

rnest Gaines's work is best categorized as Southern fiction and African- American fiction.aines's novels and short stories focus on the people, folklore, and dialects of rural Louisiana.he setting of his novels is always Bayonne Louisiana: a mythical region that embodies the

ouisianan culture, much in the way that Faulkner's mythical county of Yoknapatawpha did forississippi. Many textual references to Faulkner can be seen in Gaines's writing such as the

ommon first person narration and the use of Southern dialects. Gaines does acknowledge thataulkner heavily influenced his work and also has cited the influence of another great Southernylist, Hemingway.

aines's work also frequently presents motifs common to the African-American tradition. Oralorytelling and folklore, two elements that have dominated African-American literature since

e days of slavery, frequently appear in his novels. Additionally, by setting his tales in oldantations, Gaines creates neoslave narratives that retell post Civil War African-Americanstory from the perspective of one character. By using these personalized tales, Gaines seeksrecord their previously unrecorded experiences. His efforts to include African- American


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haracter List

andy Marshall- Partial owner of the Marshall Plantation. Candy organizes the events in theovel after she learns of the murder of Beau Bauton. She appears to be close friends with theacks on the plantation, but actually possesses a form of benevolent racism consistent with hergh social class. Although she appears headstrong and spunky when she confesses to Beau'surder, she actually is blind in many ways. The man that she believes committed the crime,

athu, did not do it. With her unwillingness to let Mathu handle the situation, Candy restrictss freedom and humanity. Still Candy is generally a good figure, who represents the

ossibility of a future for the plantation. By the end of the novel, she has grown more self-alized and lost some of her tacitly racist ways.

ead an in-depth analysis of Candy Marshall.

Mathu- The man suspected of killing Beau Baton because Beau was killed outside of Mathu'souse and Mathu is the toughest black man around. Mathu is honored and respected by all of

e characters in the novel, including Candy and the Sheriff Mapes. Candy adores Mathuecause he basically raised her. Sheriff Mapes and Mathu have occasionally gone fishing. Theher blacks have admired Mathu's willingness to stand up to local blacks and all want to helpm. Mathu is not a character without fault; he has excessive pride. He believes that he is

uperior to other blacks first because is not cowardly like them, and second because his darkkin shows that he has never been tainted with white blood. Mathu changes throughout theovel as well. At its end, he realizes the faultiness of his excessive pride. Overall, Mathu is arong black man who is a role model for the other men.

Mapes - The Sheriff of Bayonne. Mapes is a complex character who is likeable in some ways,ut whose techniques are outdated. Mapes relies about the use of violence to interrogate the oldack men, a technique that is unnecessary and harsh. Mapes belongs to an older order ofouthern men who did define their manhood by their ability to subjugate another. In this way,s time has past. Still, in some ways the Sheriff eludes the concept of race in his friendshipith Mathu. Sheriff Mapes respects Mathu's manhood and therefore has gone fishing with him.he Sheriff's willingness to interact with a black man, shows is willing to live outside of theoncept of race. Similarly, the Sheriff listens to the narratives of the older black men withoutomplaint and shows no preference for whites in the final battle. In many ways, Sheriff Mapes

a likable character, but his techniques suggest that he is stuck in an earlier Southern era.

ead an in-depth analysis of Mapes.

ou Dimes - Candy's boyfriend. Lou is the most frequent narrator in the novel. He works as aurnalist in Baton Rouge and his style is detached and observant. In addition to being a

arrator, Lou also is the representative of a new Southern male. Lou wants to marry Candy,ho represents the plantation world, but he is an educated city journalist who does not entirelyt in at the plantation. Both Sheriff Mapes and Miss Merle question Lou's manhood when he

ils to control and quiet Candy down. Lou's relatively liberal view on her behavior differsom the older Southern masculinity that dominated women as well as land and blacks. Lou'snique masculinity represents the changing times.

Miss Merle - The owner of a local plantation. Miss Merle is generally a kindly lady whom


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ney describes as being fat with a nice round face. Miss Merle feels deeply concerned aboutandy, whom she played a role in raising. She also mobilizes Candy's effort to save Mathu.iss Merle is a member of the ruling white class who distinguishes herself clearly from theacks around her. Still, Miss Merle differs greatly from Jack and Bea Marshall by being both

ware and active in the community. Overall, Miss Merle is a nice generous female characterho seems slightly sad. She carries unrequited love for Jack Marshall and her attachment toandy suggests that she may not have had children of her own.eau Boutan - The Cajun farmer who leases the Marshall Plantation and who is killed right

efore the action begins. Because he is dead for most of the novel, his role is largely symbolic.eau represents all white men who perpetuated violence against blacks. Beau's murder,milarly, represents the murder that many of the persecuted blacks may have fantasized about.eau's connection to the agricultural transformation of the Marshall Plantation also makes himsymbol of the detrimental shift in local economic patterns.

ix Boutan - Father of Beau Boutan. A man feared by local blacks for his violent behaviorward them. Fix Boutan is a classic Southern patriarch who rules his family and longs usesolence to maintain its honor. Fix's presence dominates the novel since the characters all fearm. However, he is no longer the young man that he once was. Although Fix still contemplates

xacting revenge, his ways are outdated. His time is past and he represents the old Southernder that is dying.

il Boutan- One of the star football players on the Louisiana State Team. Gil is also knowny his nickname Salt. He is the brother of Beau Baton and the son of Fix, but his ideas differeatly from theirs. Gil represents a vision of a new social order that contains harmoniouscial relations. Gil's greatness as a football player is entirely dependent on his interaction withblack player named Cal, "Pepper." Gil is to be a thoughtful, pained young man who feelsressed by the historical burden of racism that his father embodies. Gil also is brave however

nd his willingness to stand against the tradition of violence turns the historical tide.harlie- Works mostly closely with Beau Bauton, cutting and hauling cane everyday. Charlieng has been known as a weak willed man who always runs from trouble and takes abuse from

veryone with no shame. Charlie's character becomes completely redefined when it isscovered that he killed Beau Bauton. Furthermore, after Charlie fled and returned, Charlieems imbued with a new courage that the other blacks admire. Charlie symbolizes the strongalization of black masculinity.

ack Marshall - Part owner of the Marshall plantation. Jack is drunk during the entire novelnd says little. He represents the obsolescent order of plantation owners. He is ineffectual,

ually intoxicated, and generally disinterested. His drinking might arise from his guilt over hismily's slave owning past, but his inactivity suggests his lack of interest in making any effortredefine his self. Furthermore, while his family's identity may disgust him, Jack clings to it

ith his snobbery. Jack is a useless ineffectual figure who appropriately owns deterioratingeffectual plantation.

ea Marshall - Partial owner of the Marshall Plantation. Bea is married to Jack Marshall. Beaarshall also is an old and ineffectual representative of the old plantation order. Like her

usband, she spends most of her days drunk. She cares little for her niece and for the people

ho work in her plantation. In the opening scene, she searches in the weeds for pecans under aee, which seems an accurate metaphor for how clueless she is to what is truly happening ine world. She too seems an appropriate useless mistress for a deteriorating Southernantation.


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aney- The servant of the Marshall House. She fits into the classic role of a "house Negro," ale that has existed and been pointed out since the times of slavery. Janey maintains allegiancemore subservient ideas of race. For example, she tells Snookum to refer to the whites with

Miss" or "Mr" and refuses to let him in the front yard. Like the other residents of the Marshallouse, Janey exists in the past social structure of plantation times. She clings to their ideas ofe world, which are outdated.

nookum- The sole male child described during the novel. His youth and freshness stands inontrast to the old men that surround him. Snookum is curious, disobedient, and questioning.

e represents the generation of black males that is to come in the future. His attitudes towarde whites and toward masculinity will be greatly different from those of his elders. Thesplay of brave masculinity shown by the older black men in the novel will teach Snookumssons of manhood that few Southern blacks have been able to learn before him. Snookumpresents the future and the change that will come with the future.

uke Will- Leads a group of men against the blacks at the Marshall Plantation. Luke Will hasugh manners and a rough temperament. Luke Will possesses outdated ideas, crass manners,

nd dirty hands. In addition to being a ruffian, Will is in many ways a coward. Before going toe lynching, for example, Luke and his men get drunk so that they can have the willpower to

ndertake the violence ahead of them. Their need to exist as a drunk mob shows them assecure men who pray on others in order to achieve a sense of superiority. Luke Will,

owever, is just a troublemaker not worthy of admiration.

latoo - One of the narrators of the novel. Clatoo brings all of the other men to the Marshallantation by picking them up in his car. He also boldly confesses to Beau's murder and arguesith the Sheriff during the action. Furthermore, Clatoo is the one character to stands up toandy and disallows her from meeting with the men, as act that reveals her personality as itally is. Clatoo is one of the stronger old men.

ohnny Paul- Lives on the Marshall Plantation. Johnny Paul confesses to the murder. He alsoelivers an articulate explanation of the changing times on the plantation.

everend Jameson- The one black character who refuses to go along with Candy's plan. Theeverend seems unwilling to accept the possibility of change in the new social order. Theeverend prefers to stick with the clear-cut definitions from the past.

ully - A football player from Louisiana State, who accompanies Gil Boutan back to his homend reports on the events there. Sully is of an Irish background, an important distinction thatlows him to be a more objective narrator. Sully is also an educated narrator who compares theene at the Marshall Plantation to the Twilight Zone. This comparison reminds us that Sully is

ddicted to television, but also highlights the new dimension of reality that is beginning to existthe world.

ee Jack - One of the narrators and the owner of a local bar/corner store. Tee Jack's primaryoncern is pleasing his customers. Tee Jack may not be a deep racist at heart, but hisnwillingness to counter the racist ideas voiced in his bar make him a tacit accomplice in theimes that they commit. Tee Jack represents the quiet acceptance of racist values in the South

nd the difficulty of complete social change.

oot- One of the narrators of the novel. He fought in World War One and wears his uniform

the plantation out of pride.illy Washington - One of the oldest men present. He courageously confesses and tells hisory before any of the other men.harp - One of the Cajuns who comes to lynch Beau's murderer. His narration reveals him to


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e a generally weak figure who wants to back out of the lynching since the blacks have startedfight back.

irty Red - One of the old men who narrates. Dirty Red's family has an unfavorableputation of cowardice, which Dirty Red helps to change with his actions in the novel.al Harrison- A star black football player on the Louisiana State University Team. With Giloutan, Cal represents the possibility of interracial harmony in the South. Together Gil and Cale known as "Salt and Pepper."ufe - One of the narrators of the novel.

himley - One of the narrators of the novel and one of the men who gathers at Mathu's house.Mat - One of the narrators of the novel and one of the men who gathers at Mathu's house.

able- One of the old black men whom the Sheriff questions.lo Herbert - The grandmother of Snookum, Toddy, and Minnie. She is one of the fewmale characters in the novel who reappears, but her role is limited.

eroy - The white Cajun who is shot during the battle. Leroy represents the weakest of thehite males who comes for the lynching.ussell - The deputy who keeps Fix away from the plantation. Russell uses sound logic to

onvince Gil that Gil is doing the right thing. Russell is a deputy who is prepared to governithin the post-Civil Rights era of the South since he does not appear to be a racist.riffin- The deputy who Mapes brings to the plantation. Griffin is a comic figure who fearse old black man. He also maintains allegiance with the ways of the Old South by refusing toght against Luke Will because he is white and argues that the old black men should be made

shut up. Griffin's adherence to racist ideas despite his youth suggests the unlikelihood ofpid racial harmony in the South.ucker- One of the old black men that tells the story of his brother, Silas. Tucker's accountvolves the symbolism of the changing times.

ing and Ding Lejeune- Two of the men who gather at the Marshall plantation. Local whitesnce poisoned their niece. They play a very minor role, but their account contributes to theommunal weave.


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nalysis of Major Characters

andy Marshall

andy Marshall is the protagonist of the novel, even though the plot actually has little to doith her self. She is the protagonist because Beau Boutan's murder takes place on her plantationMathu's yard. Because of Candy's desire to protect Mathu, she immediately takes charge of

e situation by gathering men and shotguns from all around the community. Candy's desire tootect those around her appears compassionate. As the novel continues, her motives seem less

enuine. On one level, Mathu is almost Candy's father, since he has literally raised her sincee death of her own parents. But, as the novel reveals, her love for Mathu is conditional.lthough Mathu has taught Candy about the structure of the plantation, she maintains her sensesuperiority over it. When the men announce that Candy cannot be part of their discussion,

he threatens to evict them. Her threats demonstrate that Candy still governs the plantation as ifhe owns its residents. Candy wants to protect "her" people, but refuses to let them protectemselves. Candy's protectionism seems to usurp what the men are trying to achieve. The men

ant to demonstrate their bravery as men, but Candy wants them to stand as impotent as thempty shells that line their shotguns. Candy's inability to recognize the old men's desire foranhood and Mathu's independent abilities shows that in many ways she still blindly stands asmistress in the plantation world

et, Candy does appear to change within the novel. At the end of the book, she grabs onto Louimes's hand in a gesture of affection. Lou has asked Candy to marry him, but she has neverven him an answer. With this notable grab, she seems to be suggesting that she will accept

nd commit to him. For Candy this change means a relaxation of her domineering attitude.urthermore, for Candy this change is beneficial and necessary. Candy's aunt and uncle, Beand Jack Marshall, no longer fit into the changing world with their obsolescent class concepts,ut the youthful Candy can re-adapt if she is willing to adjust with the times. At the end of theovel, she appears to be ready.

eau Bauton

eau Bauton is dead throughout the entire novel, but is one of the most important characters

ue to his symbolic role. Beau represents the social order that has subjugated the blacksroughout history. All of the old black men believe Beau to have been closely linked toolence events in their pastdaughters raped, sons killed, and friends attacked. No proofearly ties Beau to each specific act, but it does not matter. Based upon the remembrances ofe characters, it is clear that Beau is not a gentle figure. Charlie describes that Beau startedtting him with a stalk of sugar cane because Beau did not like the way Charlie was working.eau's use of force for such a minor issue shows that he believed in the outdated technique ofing violence to subjugate blacks. Furthermore, after Charlie hits Beau back, Beau prepares tourder him. In Beau's mind, shooting Charlie with a shotgun is an appropriate response to

harlie hitting him with sugar cane. This logic is misguided, outdated, and racist. Because thisgic no longer fits into the new social order, it seems somewhat appropriate that Beau is dead.

eau Bauton also is the primary symbol of the agricultural changes that have forced the blacks


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hemes, Motifs, and Symbols

hemes

nhood and Redefining Black Masculinity

he primary theme inA Gathering of Old Menis the redefinition of black masculinity. Initiallyled "The Revenge of Old Men," the novel is a tale about action and self-realization. The olden who gather at the plantation have spent their days running from trouble. After years ofcial and economic subjugation in a racist system, they long to stand up for something. The

ansformation that they long to undertake is best illustrated by Charlie. Charlie is a legendaryeakling who has always been defined by his servile personality. By the end of the novelough, Charlie has changed. Not only did he kill Beau, but he returns to confess, and then

ecomes the most courageous man in the battle. In just one day, Charlie has become a manithout fear. The old black men look for a similar transformation. They demonstrate theirrong selves by coming to help Mathu, by telling their stories, and by fighting with the whites.

y the end of the novel, all of these men have reaffirmed their manhood and their humanity.

anges in Social and Legal Status

he social and legal status of blacks has changed in the South, but for most of the novel theharacters act as they would have years ago, with the blacks awaiting Fix and the lynch mob.uke Will and his crew expect the blacks not to fight back. However times have changed. Whenheriff Mapes finds out that Fix is not coming to the plantation, he laughs. The Sheriff finallyes that he and the other old men have been acting as if it was early in the century, instead ofe late 1970s. The Civil Rights movement has come and gone. Salt and Pepper are

emonstrating racial harmony on the football field. Social relations between whites and blacksave changed and the characters should act accordingly. The final courtroom trial affirms ofe altered legal status of the races in the South. All of the defendants are tried together and allthem receive the same penalty. This equitable trial stands in sharp contrast to the legacy of

cially biased legality in the South. By the end of the novel, everyone knows that the racesore fairly seem to legally co-exist.

cial Interdependence

he existence of racial interdependence is mostly obvious seen with the combination of "Saltnd Pepper," the star football players. The success of these two players relies on theirooperation with one another. If Cal, the fullback, did not support Gil, the halfback, the duoould fail. Their need for joint playing is a metaphor for the entire South and in fact, the entire

ountry. The races need to work together for everyone to be successful. Working separatelyill not allow for success in football or in American society. Cal and Gil will become "All-merican" players due to their cooperative effort. Similarly, the United State of America willecome more truly "all- American" if races fairly work together and are equally appreciated for

e roles that each of them play.

Motifs

uble consciousness


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he narration by black characters demonstrates the widespread existence of doubleonsciousness. W.E.B DuBois, the early 20th century African-American scholar, coined theoncept of double consciousness to express the way in which American blacks have an identityserved for themselves and one reserved for whites. The public personas of old men in the

ovel long have silently agreed to their subjugation. When transformed into narrators however,eir spirit and dreams of willful action become evident. The idea of dual identities also is

uggested by the characters' names. Each of the characters has two nameshis formal namend the name by which he is most commonly known. The formal name belongs to the world of

ocuments and civil rights, the world to which the black men have always been denied entry.he informal name reflects their character and its style. The old black men always have livedith these two separate selves. With the events at the Marshall Plantation they are able to bringeir separate names together. The spirited internal personas become evident as the characters

arrate their tales. In the final trial, the characters also boldly refer to each other by theircknames rather than their formal ones. At the novel's end, the old men still possess double

onsciousnesses once described by DuBois, yet the relationship of these two identities hasown closer together.

cial Distinctions Inside Race

aines demonstrates social distinctions both between and within the races. The whites arerictly divided between the white landowners and the local Cajuns, with the landownerselieving themselves superior. Likewise, the blacks use the issue of the lightness of skin tone

a sign of social status. The development of characters within this novel shows all thesecial hierarchies to be without basis. Bea and Jack Marshall, for example, believe themselves

uperior but are truly drunken idlers. Mathu believes himself superior for being pitch black, buty the end of the book, he realizes that the men's actions define their selves, not whether they

ave traces of white blood. With this analysis, Gaines exposes the social hierarchies of theouth keenly and in doing so exposes the foolishness of their mere existence.

rytelling

nest Gaines long has cited the importance of storytelling in the culture of his youth. As he says in an interview, "I come from a plantation where

ople told stories by the fireplace at night, people told stories on the ditch bankPeople sat around telling stories." The importance of storytelling isnstantly reinforced inA Gathering of Old Menboth because of the multiple narrators and because of the scenes where the old men actually tell tales of

ir painful past. The stories and the narrative tone recreate the thick cultural weave of the local black culture. The dialects dance off one another,lecting the richness even within the small local community. The scenes in which the men confess to the murder and testify to their troubles

monstrates that way that storytelling can become a bold act of defiance in a culture that once expected blacks to be silent. Presenting the importanttif of oral storytelling heralds back to African-American works as old as slave literature. In a culture that once was denied literacy, oral storytelling

ame the primary means of defining one's self.

ymbols

actor

he tractor symbolizes the agricultural mechanization that has taken place with the growth ofajun farming and this mechanization's effect. The arrival of the tractor with the Cajuns shiftede traditional means of local black life. Mechanization reduced the need for labor. The

ommunity of blacks who once cared for the land became suddenly unemployed, and most ofem moved away. While the plantation once was carefully maintained by those who worked it,

ow only the old remain and the plantation's buildings are deteriorating. The image of theactor is seen near Beau's dead body and later serves as a bastion for the Cajuns during the


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attle. Overall it is a negative symbol that suggests increased hardships for the local blacks.he tractor was the primary tool of the Cajuns that pushed the blacks off the land.

gar cane

ike the tractor, the sugar cane suggests the way that the Cajuns have changed the localgriculture. The sugar cane represents the times when the blacks worked the land and theirommunity thrived. The Cajun farmers have destroyed the cane fields with their farming, much

the way that they have destroyed the old men's previous way of life. The empty cane fieldsen on the way to the Marshall Plantation evoke the image of old houses from which goodiends have moved. The cane is gone and destroyed just as familiar days of the past havesappeared. Additionally, the sugar cane also grows wildly in some areas and may even soon

verrun their local graveyarda clear symbol of how the Cajuns has pushed them from theirncestral land. The symbol of sugar cane also contains a textual reference to Jean Toomer'sassic book Cane, a book that examines the vibrancy of early 20th century black life byterweaving poetry and fiction. In Toomer's book, as in Ernest Gaines's, the sugar canepresents the beauty and pain that African-Americans experienced as they worked for many

ears close to the land.

ns

ndy initially instructs the men to bring twelve-gauge shotguns to Mathu's house because she thinks that the proliferation of guns will make it

possible for the Sheriff to solve the murder. Still while Candy wants the men to have weapons, she assumes that the guns will contain only emptylls. By limiting the men to empty shells, Candy reinforces her hierarchical position over them and demonstrates that she fails to see them as strong

n. Lou and Sheriff Mapes initially feel alarmed at the sight of the rifles, but upon learning that they are empty, the white men feel once againnvinced that the guns are simply symbols of the old men's impotence. The old men, however, turn their guns into signs of manhood. Throughout the

y, Clatoo has arranged for the men to fill their pockets with live shotgun shells. By the time that the lynch mob appears, the old men are ready to fight.hen the men reveal that they are ready to defend their manhood with live shells, Lou, Candy, and Sheriff Mapes are shocked. In the end, the blacks

efine their relationship to these guns by arming them. In doing so, they change remove any notion of them as impotence figures unable to use theirapons. In the find battle scene, the black men, not the whites, truly are the ones calling the shots.


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hapter 1 and 2

mmary

hapter 1: George Eliot Jr., aka Snookum

eorge Eliot, Jr., also known as Snookum, narrates Chapter 1. He is sitting at the kitchen tableating with his siblings, Toddy and Minnie, when he hears Candy outside yelling for Aunt Glo,s grandmother. He tries to get up and see what is happening, but his grandmother orders him

ack to the table. Toddy laughs as Snookum returns to his chair. Snookum reflects on howoddy caught Minnie and him "playing mama and papa" in the weeds recently, so Snookumannot respond to Toddy's abuses in anyway or Toddy will tell on him.

andy then summons Snookum outside. When Snookum gets there he sees that Candy lookspset. She tells Snookum to run and tell Rufe, Reverence Jameson, and Corrine to go toathu's house. She also tells him to go to the main house and tell Janey to telephone Lou and

iss Merle. She urges him to rush and return straightaway.

nookum shoots off down the road. When he gets near Mathu's house, Snookum sees that theactor is still running, but Charlie, its operator, is not around. Snookum sees Beau lying in theeeds all bloody. Snookum tells Mathu that he has been ordered to summon everyone toathu's house. Mathu tells him to stay away from Beau. Snookum dashes to the houses ofufe, the Reverend Jameson, and Corrine and gives them all Candy's message. When he arrivesthe Marshall House, where Janey lives, he calls to her from the gate. Janey chastises him for

elling so loud and tells him that he should call Lou, "Mr. Lou," and Candy, "Miss Candy."

When Janey asks what it is all about, Snookum tells her that Beau is lying bloody in Mathu'sard. Janey immediately looks frightened and remarks about having recently heard someunfire. She starts asking the Lord to have mercy. She tells Snookum that Fix is now going toome, but that Snookum is probably too young to understand what Fix will do. Snookum asksr some cakes as a reward for his running, but he gets nothing before heading home.

hapter 2: Janice Robinson, aka Janey

ney, formally known as Janice Robinson, narrates Chapter 2. After hearing the news, she

peatedly asks the Lord and Jesus for mercy. She telephones Lou in Baton Rouge but is onlyble to leave a message with the operator asking that he come immediately to the plantation.he then calls Miss Merle, but no one answers the telephone. When Janey walks outside, shees that the Major is asleep on the porch swing having become already drunk even though it isst around noon. She also sees Miss Bea searching for pecans in the weeds under the trees.ney hopes that a snake does not come out of the weeds and bite the old woman, because Janeysumes that she will be blamed.

ney calls Miss Merle again, but still gets no answer. Janey worries about Fix coming down

e road with his crew and their guns. She calls Miss Merle again, but still no answer. Janeyturns to dusting the house, which she had been doing before Snookum arrived. She suddenly

ears a car in the front drive and sees that it is Miss Merle. When Miss Merle sees that Janey


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as been crying, she asks what is wrong. Miss Merle sees the drunk Major and comments thearliness of the day. Janey tells Miss Merle that Beau is dead and that Candy is down in "theuarters." Miss Merle makes an exclamation of distress and tries to wake up the Major. Afteriss Merle realizes that the Major cannot be roused, she decides to head down to Mathu's

ouse herself. As she is leaving, she instructs Janey to pray.

alysis

hese first two chapters lay out the event that will motivate the novel's plot, Beau's murder.hey also provide the story's setting, the Marshall Plantation. Snookum's run through theantation in Chapter One provides a physical depiction of its layout. He, like the other blacksves with his family down in the "quarters," or the area that once was called the "slaveuarters." Janey lives with Miss Bea, the Major, and Candy in the Marshall House, or the houseat once held the slave owners. This geographic division shows that the plantation is still laid

ut as it was during slavery. The division maintains the old social order. The language used inis chapter does as well. Janey instructs Snookum to call Lou, "Mr. Lou," and Candy, "Missandy." Janey's instruction reinforces the traditional way that black people addressed whites. In

contrary verbal pattern, we see that Candy Marshall calls Glo, "Aunt Glo." The use of "Aunt"oes not signify a term of affection for the old woman, but rather is a label that shows Candy'sperior social class. Traditionally whites labeled older black men and women as "Uncle" or

Aunt." The false casualness of the terminology carries an insulting taint since it presupposesat whites can refer to blacks as "Aunt" while the blacks have to refer to the whites as "Mr" or

Miss." The way that Janey uses language also demonstrates her position in the social order.lthough she lives in the Marshall House, she is not the equal of the other residents. She callserle, "Miss Merle," and Bea, "Miss Bea." These labels suggest, although it is not entirelyear in this chapter, that she is a servant in the house. Gaines exposes these striations of social

ass subtly in these first two chapters, but they will come to be more fully developedroughout the novel.

uture events in the plot are also frequently foreshadowed in these first two chapters. Thecture of Beau's bloody body will reappear throughout the novel. The investigation into hisurder and the effects of this murder are the novel's primary issues. In these first two chapters,e know very little about who Beau is and why he has been murdered. We learn that a manamed "Fix" might come and that his coming will likely bring violence to the area. We alsoear about the characters of "Lou" and "Mapes," but it is not clear who these people are. Theotion of fear, however, is well expressed by both Janey and Miss Merle. Other characters ine novel will soon share their intense fear. Ironically, although the emotion dominates these

wo chapters, Gaines will invert it by the end of the novel since by that time most of theharacters will have successfully confronted their fears.

here is also a unique narrative technique in these two chapters, in which a different personarrates each chapter. The two different narrators are just the first out of fifteen that will appear

the novel. Gaines's narrative technique allows for subjective storytelling: the narrators tell

hat they see and think according to their own inclinations and personalities. This structurelows for the novel to be told with a communal weave. Certain events are repeated from thefferent narrative perspectives, allowing a broad understanding of the situation at hand.areful attention should also be paid to the way in which Gaines alters the diction and verbal


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atterns of each character. Gaines's uses a child, Snookum, to open the tale, a move that isminiscent of a similar act in Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. Snookum's style reflects theack idiom in which he was raised, while his tone is fresh and clear. At the same time,nookum is only privileged to a child's perspective and understands little about what is goingn. Janey's speech in Chapter Two reflects her deep religiosity since she relies heavily onligious references. Janey also has limited knowledge about what is happening in theantation, but she still includes her own, slightly humorous, observations of Miss Merle. Asese two voices suggest the individual narrations allow for heavily subjective voices that do

ot unfold in a straight logical fashion. As the narrators continue to emerge, so too will thextual richness of the tale.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/soundfury/


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hapter 3: Myrtle Bouchard, aka Miss Merle

mmary

iss Merle narrates Chapter three. She has brought an apple pie over to the Marshall House tove to Jack, the Major, in whom she has long been romantically interested with no success.fter seeing Janey's distress and Jack slumped over drunk, she drives down to the quarters. Shees Candy in front of Mathu's house. Mathu, Johnny Paul, and Rufe are all sitting on the porch

olding shotguns. Candy tells Miss Merle that she shot Beau.

iss Merle has known Candy since Candy was five or six when Candy's mother and father dieda car crash. For this reason, Miss Merle knows that Candy is lying to her. Miss Merle begs

andy to tell her the truth, but Candy insists that she shot Beau. Candy then explains that evenough she did it, Mathu, Rufe, and Johnny Paul have also confessed to the crime. Miss Merlells Candy that she knows that Candy did not kill Beau.

andy asks Miss Merle to help by gathering as many men as possible to the scene, with twelveauge shotguns and some empty gun shells. When Miss Merle questions her reasoning, Candyxplains that if Mapes comes with just the three men there, he will beat them until oneonfesses. If more men with shotguns appear, Mapes will not gather a confession so easily.andy explains that she does not want anything to happen to her people, especially to Mathu.iss Merle looks at Mathu and decides that he definitely killed Beau. She remembers how the

outhful Candy was closer to Mathu than to the aunt and uncle who were supposed to raise her.iss Merle knows that Candy is trying to protect Mathu with this scheme. Candy also begsiss Merle to make sure that Lou comes before Mapes.

iss Merle returns to the Marshall House. She finds Jack still asleep drunk on the porch andea sitting on the west gallery. When Bea sees Miss Merle, she orders Janey to go get them aink called a "pea picker," made of gin and pink lemonade.

iss Merle tells Bea that Beau Bauton has been killed in the quarters and it is not the rightme for a drink. Bea does not care and becomes very angry when Merle tries to counteract herder to Janey. Bea tells Miss Merle that she is not the mistress of Marshall House and thatiss Merle has no right to give her servants orders. Janey gets the drinks.

iss Merle tells Bea and Janey that Candy is claiming responsibility for the shooting. Beaommends Candy's spunk remarking that it runs in their family, as Candy is her niece. She alsoiticizes Beau's Cajun background. Miss Merle explains Candy's plan to Janey and Bea. Whenney gets hysterical, Miss Merle slaps Janey's black face. Bea suggests that Janey call Clatoonce Clatoo has hated Fix ever since Fix's brother tried to rape Clatoo's sister and his sisteras sent to prison and became insane. Miss Merle tells Bea and Janey to keep thinking up moreeople. As Miss Merle heads to the phone, Bea also orders Janey to bring her another drink.

alysis

is chapter continues to establish both the setting and the conflict that will emerge in the novel. Miss Merle is a white woman who belongs to the same

ial class as Miss Bea, the Major, and Candy. Her location in this high class can be seen from the "Miss" before her name, her long term thoughfulfilled romantic intentions for Jack, and the way that she treats Janey, especially when she slaps her face. Janey, we find out clearly in this chapter,


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he house servant for the Marshalls and she is black. When Miss Merle tries to counteract Miss Bea's order for a drink, Miss Bea grows incensed and

s her that they are not at the Seven Oaks Plantation but at the Marshall Plantation of which Miss Bea is mistress. In this way, it is clear that Missrle is the mistress of a neighboring plantation who has long been acquainted with the Marshall family. Although Miss Merle belongs to the white

ner class, she is a different person than Miss Bea and Jack Marshall. When Miss Merle learns of Beau's death, she immediately heads down into thearters to find out what is happening and to talk to Candy. Miss Merle also agrees to help Candy and by helping Candy, she helps Mathu, a black

n whom she believes killed Beau. Miss Merle's concern with the people of the plantation differs greatly from the response of Bea Marshall who simplyes not care. When Bea learns of the murder, she is fast on her way to getting drunk. Her husband, Jack Marshall, already is so drunk that he is asleep

the porch. Miss Bea furthermore expresses her disgust at Beau's Cajun background and describes how she never liked him or "his kind." Miss Bea'sjudiced statement underscores the social difference within the local whites, primarily the landowners and the Cajuns who worked the land. The

juns arrived in Louisiana in the late 18th century after fleeing the French-speaking region of Canada. During the slavery era, the Cajuns were poorites who stood economically outside the plantation system since they did not own land and were not black. When slavery ended, the Cajuns had to

mpete with the local blacks who were now free. In the postwar period, the Cajuns often received the best plots of land because they were white, whileblacks were slowly forced out of the agricultural system like in this novel. As Gaines's suggests, the Cajuns, represented by Fix, also maintained their

rarchy over blacks by using systematic violence against them. The working class whites, such as the Cajuns, initiated legacy of racial violence in theuth in part due to sheer economic competition. Still the landowning whites, like Miss Bea, never accepted these Cajuns as their equals even though

y belong to the same race and have lived in the same community for centuries. Miss Bea additionally expresses her dissatisfaction with the way thatCajuns changed the agricultural techniques of the region. The change she refers to involves the Cajun use of the tractors that phased out the

ditional sharecropping by blacks on the land. Miss Bea's remark about the shift in agricultural techniques is the first of many that will appear in thevel. The Cajun's use of the tractor is a repeating symbol in the text. Miss Merle narrates this chapter and her style is that of an educated white

uthern woman. Although she is more informed and kinder than Bea Marshall, her tone still maintains her sense of social superiority. When she visitsquarters, for example, she compares its residents to bedbugs, which is not a particularly flattering comparison. Still, because of the clarity of her

rrative style many plot elements are much more clear than when Snookum and Janey narrated. We now understand that Candy Marshall generallyrsees the plantation and is close with the plantation blacks. Furthermore, Candy's exposition of her plan foreshadows the plot movement to come.

e old men will gather at the Marshall plantation as Candy has desired. Candy will spend the novel defending Mathu. Miss Merle's visit to the crimene also clearly locates Mathu as the suspected murderer. This third chapter has presented the issues facing the characters and set the stage, and the

na is now arranged for the future gathering of the old men.


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hapter 4 and 5

mmary

hapter 4: Robert Louis Stevenson Banks, aka Chimley

himley and Mat are fishing as they always do on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the pastn years. They have each caught several perches and are discussing the old days. A boy

omes running toward the river and tells them that Clatoo wants them to know that Candyeeds them at the Marshall Plantation. The boy tells them to bring their shotguns andme empty shells, because Beau Bauton has been shot outside Mathu's house. The boy,hom Chimley feels is a sissy, remarks that he personally is going to get himself as farway from that area as he can. He then runs away. Chimley and Mat go on fishing silently.himley reflects that blacks have been punished over the years for minor offenses like aisspoken word, but that no black ever murdered a white man. Chimley cannot imaginehat will happen in response. Mat comments that God works in mysterious ways. After

ore fishing, Mat asks Chimley if he is scared and Chimley says yes. Mat tells Chimleyhat he is seventy-one years oldChimley is seventy-twoand he does not want to go hidender a bed to ride this situation out. Mat and Chimley consider whether or not Mathulled Beau. Chimley knows Mathu has had minor arguments with the local Cajuns before.nce Fix ordered Mathu to carry his cola can to the garbage at the back of the local store

nd Mathu refused. Fix then punched Mathu and the two men got into a full on fight. Theheriff, who watched the whole thing, punched both men equally at the fight's end, andrtunately Mathu was never lynched. Chimley knows that Mathu is one of the few blacken around who ever stood up for himself. Mat and Chimley decide to go. They pull in

heir fishing lines and head to their houses. When Chimley gets home, his wife startsssing and asks why he came home so early. He hands her the fish and tells her that she

etter have them ready by supper. Chimley tells her nothing else, grabs his shotgun, andeads out to the road to catch a ride with Clatoo.

hapter 5: Matthew Lincoln Brown, aka Mat

at narrates Chapter 5. Upon getting home, he telephones Clatoo to see if he can catch a ride.sing the phone, Clatoo also manages to borrow a shotgun from a local woman. After Mat

ranges everything, his wife, Ella, eyes him suspiciously and demands to know what isappening. Mat refuses to tell her and insists that it is men's business. Ella looks outside andes a neighbor, Billy Washington, with a shotgun. Because Billy is so old and never goes

unting, she knows something is happening. She hounds her husband. Finally Mat tells her thatCajun has been killed and that they are all going to the Marshall Plantation to help out. Ella

xplodes. She tells Mat that he is crazy and that he is not going. Mat responds with anger andlls his wife that he is finally standing up for something like a man after the years of abuse,iling in the fields. Mat evokes the memory of their son who died because the local hospital

fused to treat a black man, and he starts weeping as he fights. Upon hearing the car hornutside, he abruptly leaves. Clatoo is driving and Mat climbs in the back with BillyWashington, Chimley, Cherry Bello, and Jacob Aguillard. The men remark on the fight Mat

ust have just had with his wife. They each comment on how they managed to slip away from


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eir own women. Mat talks to Chimley who acknowledges that he is scared. Mat feels scaredo, but proud also in a different way.

alysis

hese two chapters set Candy's plan into motion and give us the first glance into the old menho will gather at the plantation. A major theme in these two chapters is the issue of manhood.he opening of the section shows Chimley and Mat as they are before the day's events. Theye old, in their early seventies, and they are fishing, a traditional masculine activity. Wheney learn of Beau's death and Candy's call for help, they both grow quiet with thought. Afterinking about the matter for a few minutes, Mat remarks to Chimley that God works inysterious ways. His comment suggests that this opportunity to help Mathu will give Chimley

nd Mat a way to redeem themselves before they die. The act of redemption will come fromem bravely standing up like men instead of hiding under beds like cowards. For most of theirves, they, like most black men, have chosen the latter route since standing up to local whitesten meant physical torture and death. Now in their twilight years, they suddenly feel

mpowered to stand up as they never have before.

he argument between Mat and his wife further demonstrates Mat's need to redefine hisasculinity. His wife wants him to stay home like a beaten down old man, but he refuses to do. Mat invokes the memories of their son's painful death, their years of suffering in the fields,

nd the legacy of discrimination. Their argument is deeply touching since Mat starts to weep ase defends his desire to finally do something brave. The other men that Mat soon after meets ine truck also have slipped away from their women. These old men all have a fierce

etermination now to demonstrate themselves. They have long looked up to Mathu becauseathu has been the one man who stood up against whites in the community. Through the old

en's willingness to take action, they will be able to assert their masculinity.

himley and Mat narrate these two chapters. They both are uneducated older black men whoave spent their days toiling on the Marshall Plantation. Their style reflects the local blackiom. Chimley and Mat are not major characters in the novel. Along with some of the otheren met in this chapter, Billy Washington, Joseph Aguillard, and Clatoo, they just becomeme of the many men who respond to Mathu's house. In fact, these two chapters representeir most visible moments in the novel. Still while their individual characters are not crucial,eir narrations initiate the series of narratives by the old men who will gather at the plantation.heir memories and points of view will be woven with those from the other old black men.nited, their tales present a rich textile of their lives with their pains and their pleasures. Byanting Mat and Chimley narrative voices, Gaines's grants them the further power of self-

efinition. These two men will likely never tell their own stories in writing, but they are able too so orally in this novel. The struggle for self-definition through the control of language is anmportant theme in the African-American tradition from the efforts of Frederick Douglass to

at of Ralph Ellison. With their physical actions during this day, the old men will beemonstrating to themselves and the communities that they are no longer cowards. With their

bility to describe themselves with their own words, the old men will be demonstrating thatthough illiterate, they are still masters of language and self. In addition to creating narrativexture, Gaines's unique narrative structure grants his characters the further possibility of self-efinition.


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hapters 6 and 7

mmary

hapter 6: Grant Bello, aka Cherry

rant Bello, aka Cherry narrates this chapter. He is sitting in the back of Clatoo's truck whenlatoo slows down to pick up Yank. Yank is in his early seventies, but he used to be a cowherdnd still acts like a cowboy notwithstanding his aged body that was frequently injured over theears. Yank greets everyone in the truck and Cherry recognizes pride on Yank's face. Cherryflects that pride is an emotion that they all seem to feel. About a mile down the road, Clatooops to pick up Dirty Red.

bout four miles after picking up Dirty Red, Clatoo stops his truck on a small dirt roadurrounded by sugar cane. The two main plantations in the area, the Morgan and the Marshall,e on either side of this road. Clatoo lets the men present out of his car and tells them to

ander up toward the graveyard. Clatoo has to go pick up some other men. After he returns,ey will all walk to Mathu's house together.

s they walk through the sugar cane of the Marshall plantation, Cherry explains that althoughe Marshalls still owned the land, Beau Bauton and his family have been leasing it for the past

wenty-five years. Cherry and his ancestors have been working on this land since slavery, untile Bautons arrived. Cherry spots a nearby cane field that had just been cleared and he findsat the sight depresses him. He decides that the empty cane field is like an old house that

eople have moved out of. A sound of a shot breaks Cherry's reverie. Billy Washington has shot

, and missed, a rabbit. Billy looks very ashamed that he missed.

he men arrive at the graveyard that is surrounded by increasingly encroaching sugar cane. Alle local black families have a small area of the yard that belongs to them. Jacob Aguillard

oes over to the grave of his sister Tessie. Cherry remembers how she was a pretty mulatto girlho slept with both white and black men. The white men eventually killed her for sleeping withacks. After her death, her family refused to take her body home because they felt she hadsgraced them by mixing with dark folks. Cherry wonders if Jacob is lamenting the way that

e treated his sister thirty years ago. Cherry goes to his family's area and prays. He then eats

me pecans that have fallen to the ground on the advice of Dirty Red who think that graveyardecans taste good. The community frequently has thought of Dirty Red and his family as lazynd Cherry reflects that Dirty Red must have come out this day to do something good.

latoo soon returns with seven other men all carrying guns. The men fire their shotguns intoe trees so that all their shotguns will appear to have just been used. They then keep walkingward Mathu's house.

hapter 7: Cyril Robillard, aka Clatoo

latoo, formally known as Cyril Robillard, narrates this chapter. Candy meets him and theher men by Mathu's house. Clatoo has known Candy all her life and knows what Mathueans to her family and especially to her. Candy describes for Clatoo how she shot Beau, but


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latoo knows that she is lying because her story sounds too practiced. Clatoo sees Mathuquatting near his house. Mathu is a dark-skinned man who takes pride in his coloring. Mathuven believes himself superior to lighter blacks since he, unlike them, has not bee tainted withhite blood. Clatoo himself is brown skinned, as some of his grandparents were white anddian. Clatoo sees Beau's bloody body lying on the grass.

latoo approaches Glo Hebert and notes upon shaking her hand that she is very proud that theyl have come. Clatoo then speaks to Mathu who tells him that this plan was Candy's not his

wn. Mathu says that he will turn himself in when the sheriff gets there. Johnny Paul and Rufeen say that Mathu cannot turn himself him because they shot Beau not him. All the men one property immediately start claiming that they shot Beau, even if they have just arrived. Theen even start competing with one another with their claims.

everend Jameson is the only man who does not participate. He believes their plan foolish andolhardy and loudly tells them so. Candy tells him to go home if he does not like it, buteverend Jameson continues to complain. Soon after, a car starts heading down the road. Itops before the house and Lou, Candy's boyfriend, gets out.

alysis

With these two chapters, the old men gather and finally arrive at the plantation. Severalmportant stops mark their journey. First, the men walk through the cut sugar cane on the

arshall Plantation. This walk gives Cherry the opportunity to explain that although thearshall family still owned the plantation, the Bautons have been leasing it for close to twenty-

ve years. Up until that time, Cherry's family had worked on the land since the days of slavery.eau's arrival heralded changes in the agricultural system and eventually led to the decreased

eed for local black labor. The fact that the Bautons now manage the farm further underscorese already evident idleness of Bea and Jack Marshall who actually own the land.

s Cherry walks through the empty cane fields, he feels lonely and depressed. The cane evokese memory of time when the black community thrived in their agricultural work. In those

ays, the people worked the soil and the soil gave them life. Families lived on or around theantation. Songs, stories, and relationships bound them together. With the arrival of the Cajuns

nd their tractor however, the diminished need for black labor stripped the black community ofl middle aged adults. These days only the old men remain on the farm. The community is

ying away, just as the plantation is becoming increasingly decayed. Weeds surround the fields.he sugar cane grows wildly almost up to the graveyard in such a way that threatens the yardself, symbolically suggesting the way that the recent agricultural change is threatening theast of the local blacks. The walk through the cane appears to be the perfect conduit for the olden since it reminds them of everything that the plantation once meant to them and how andhy it has changed. The nature of this change is essential in understanding the complex reasonsat led to Beau Boutan's death.

he second important stop on the way to the plantation is at the graveyard. The graveyard is aservoir of ancestry that will help to activate the men's strength. Each of the men has familyembers buried there. Many of the ancestors had painful lives, such as Jacob's sister who wasurdered by local whites. Still, the gravestones allow the men to connect to their past before


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ey undertake one of the braver moments of their lives. Just as the visit strengthens them, so tooes it suggest the way that current action can liberate the past. The ancestors of these menay have suffered, but current potential for action among the living may help to assuage theiroes. This meditative moment in the graveyard then both strengthens and affirms the men. Theemories of the pain that their family suffer will further spur them toward their goal, at theme time the vision of their family's strong connection to the land lends them strength as theyt.

final theme that arises in both of these chapters is the issue of the relevance of skin toneithin the black community itself. Cherry brings up the memory of Jacob Aguillard's sister, aetty mulatto girl whose family shunned her for hanging out with men who were too dark.latoo, on the other hand, describes Mathu's snobbish preference for his coal black skin. Thisscussion of skin tone highlights the fact that racial divisions are not just seen along black andhite lines. The white community, we have already seen, divides itself between Cajuns andndowners. As Cherry and Clatoo explain, the black community also maintains a social rating

ystem: one that is based upon skin tone. Ironically however, the preference for a certain skinne within the black community is a form of subtle racism of its own. Gaines's careful

elineation of this issue shows the arbitrary nature of these social rating systems and suggestse absurdity of judging any person by the color of their skin where white, black, or light or

ark. All such external means to measure a person's worth have no basis.


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hapter 8: Louis Alfred Dimoulin, aka Lou Dimes

mmary

ou Dimes narrates this chapter. He has sped crazily to the plantation after he got Candy'sessage. Upon reaching Mathu's house, he sees approximately eighteen old black men with

hotguns. He immediately speaks to Candy, who tells him that she murdered Beau. Theesence of the armed black men and Candy's confession send a shiver of panic down his spine.ou walks around the house and starts speaking to the men. The first one he addresses

mmediately confesses to the crime. The second one does the same. Finally, Lou sees theeverend Jameson and asks him what is going on. The Reverend refers Lou back to Candy.

ou tells Candy that she is lying about shooting Beau. Candy becomes furious. She explainsat she shot Beau after Beau beat Charlie, threatened Mathu, and insisted on walking onathu's property. Candy had warned Beau not to approach Mathu but when he did anyway, she

hot him. Lou tells Candy that Fix is going to demand the blood of a black person for this crime

o matter what she says. She grows increasingly angry and tells him to go back to Baton Rougehe cannot deal with it. Suddenly the road fills with dust as Sheriff Mapes arrives.

heriff Mapes is a physically large man in his late sixties. He does not speak as he gets out ofe car, but takes in the situation. He then instructs his deputy Griffin to turn off the tractor thatstill running, to call and have Fix kept away from the plantation, and to finally arrange fore removal of the body. Mapes remarks to Lou about the number of armed men. When Mapesoks at Candy, she immediately confesses to killing Beau. Mapes does not respond. He orderss deputy, Griffin, to bring one of the men over to him for questioning.

he deputy brings Billy Washington over, one of the oldest men there. Mapes refers to him asncle Billy. When Billy confesses to shooting Beau, Mapes slaps him in the face. After Mapesks more questions and Billy confesses again, Mapes slaps him once more. Since he is getting

owhere with Billy, Mapes tells Griffin to bring up another man. The deputy brings up Gable.s did Billy, Gable also immediately claims to be the murderer. When Gable persists in his

onfession, Mapes slaps him also. Gable responds sarcastically to being hit, which promptsnother blow. All the surrounding black men grin with Gable's attitude and Lou reflects that theheriff will get nowhere by hitting people.

ext Griffin brings up Reverend Jameson. Reverend Jameson looks scared and nervously tellse Sheriff that he has nothing to say. When the Reverend fails to say more, Mapes hits him asell. In response to the blow, the Reverend falls to the ground. As he gets up slowly, the otheren form a line in front of Mapes so that he can question and hit them all. Candy stands at theont of the line. Mapes moves away and talks to Lou. Mapes tells Lou that he believes thatathu killed Beau, as the only other possible suspect is Charlie, but Charlie is too cowardly.

With so many confessions, however, Mapes can arrest no one. Furthermore, Mapes knows thatandy arranged for charade. Mapes asks Lou why Lou does not better control his girlfriend.ou reflects and realizes that Mapes does not think that he is much of a man.

he coroner arrives. The sight of the armed black men surprises him and his assistant, but


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apes instructs them to just move the body and not to ask questions. The coroner places theme of death as around noon. Mapes tells the coroner not to tell anyone in town that Beau isead. After the hearse leaves, Mapes orders everyone to move but no one complies. Billy

Washington then grows excited and yells to the Sheriff that he killed Beau. The Sheriff followsp to Billy's assertion by questioning him deeply. Mapes points out that Billy could not havelled Beau because Billy does not even live at Marshall and he is too old to shoot straight.illy tells Sheriff Mapes that he killed Beau because Beau crippled Billy's son in a beatingany years before, so that Billy's son now lives in a mental hospital. Mapes listens but

smisses Billy's confession, before summoning Mathu over to him.

alysis

his chapter is the first of three that Lou Dimes will narrate. Lou is Candy's boyfriend, a whitean who lives in Baton Rouge. Lou's voice is objective and journalistic. He provides a clear

nderstanding of what is happening at the scene. At the same time, he is still a whiteoutherner who feels alarmed at the sight of many armed black men. Lou Dimes differs fromher Southern men however as we begin to see in this chapter. Although he has a relationship

ith Candy, he does not appear to be the dominant member within it. Sheriff Mapes, in fact,iticizes Lou's failure to control his woman. Lou is not interested in controlling Candy,

owever. He is a Southern man, but unlike Sheriff Mapes, he is not interested in establishings manhood by subjugating others.

heriff Mapes is not an entirely bad man, but his need to establish himself by using violenceaces him in the older Southern social order. Sheriff Mapes establishes his manhood by

xercising force against others. Ironically his violence appears to be more cowardly than it isave. The Sheriff fights these men, but not on equal grounds. His status as the enforcer of the

w protects him against any retaliation by the blacks. Sheriff Mapes takes advantage of hisosition to persecute those lower than him, but only does so knowing that he is safe within hisosition. His forcible blows against such old black men appear to be particularly harsh andnnecessary, as these men are elderly and nonviolent. The image of the Reverend Jamesonlling in reaction to being struck seems particularly cruel. As these black men pose no threat,e Sheriff's force is excessive and actually ridiculous. There is no doubt that his questioningchniques are an outdated hangover from the days of the earlier South.

he ridiculous nature of the Sheriff's violence almost seems to be understood by the black menemselves. Traditionally, the techniques used by the Sheriff would bring out truthful

onfessions and frightened reactions, but not on this day. The fear upon which the Sheriff'schniques once relied no longer seems to exist. Instead of groveling in response to the blows,e old men laugh sarcastically. Instead of fleeing when Reverend Jameson falls to the ground,e old men line up so that the Sheriff can more easily hit them. The Sheriff has no idea what to

o when his interrogating methods fail. His perplexity at not being obeyed as in the days of oldlow the old men around him to gain the upper hand.

oward the end of the chapter, Billy Washington starts confessing and offering explanationsven without the Sheriff asking. In fact, the Sheriff is still flummoxed by the failure of the menheed his ways. Billy boldly screams out that he is Beau's murder and even explains why

eau beat his son so badly years ago that Bill's son can no longer recognize his parents. Billy's


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illingness to tell his story to the white Sheriff when not asked is an act of significant courage.raditionally, there was a racist social order that prevented blacks from speaking out of turn tohites. Here, Billy not only speaks out of turn, but he also dredges up accusations of brutality

gainst a local white man. Billy's bold testimony is the first of many to come. His willingnessspeak inverts the common dynamics of dialogue between whites and blacks in the South.

While whites once stood as the master of language and speech, now Billy Washington does.illy Washington bravely rises and talks and Sheriff Mapes can do nothing but listen. This act

articulation and storytelling is another way in which Billy has reasserted his manhood on

is day.


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World War I, rises. He fought in the First World War having been trained in France andtimately earned a medal for his valor in battle. After getting home, the local whites told himat he better not wear the medal that showed that he had killed white folks. Coot remembersat local whites killed a friend's son after World War II for having a picture of him with aerman girl and that the federal government refused to bury a local black boy in Arlington,

ven though he had saved his platoon in Korea by jumping on a grenade. Coot remembers howurprised the white German soldiers looked when they saw black soldiers shooting at them ande flushes with pride at his story.

he Reverend Jameson then starts criticizing Mapes for not taking people in and doing hisuty. Other people yell at the Reverend and tell him to go home and be quiet. One woman,eulah, starts arguing with the Reverend and says that she could tell stories about what happenswomen in those parts that would make their hair stand on their heads. Mapes declines her

fer. Mapes explains to everyone that all of their stories may have basis but there is no proofat Fix ever was involved in them. The blacks laugh and say that blacks long have beennched on insufficient evidence. When Mapes suggests that he could just take someone in,andy volunteers herself. The Sheriff and everyone else settle down and decide to wait for theorm that they think will be coming.

alysis

his chapter is the emotional center of the novel. It is at this moment that the old black men ate Marshall Plantation rise up defiantly against the social system that has entrapped them.hey do so by forcing the Sheriff to listen to their stories.

ine of the eighteen men stand up in this chapter to describe the pains they suffered over the

ears. As a communal statement, these men suggest that Beau lies dead in retribution for all ofe crimes against them. The willingness of these men to rise up and tell their stories, as Billy

Washington did before them, represents a forceful act of defiance. Again, traditional socialores dictated that black people only speak to whites when they are spoken too. Here theacks take the upper hand by dominating the dialogue and forcing the Sheriff to listen. Theheriff takes this shift in verbal patterns calmly. A more traditional reaction can be seen withs deputy Griffin, who grows angry and irritated that these old men are speaking so much.riffin's criticism of the Sheriff's inaction testifies to the power of the black men's speech.rnest Gaines first gave them power by making them narrators; in this chapter, he grants theme further power of being storytellers. The men are telling their own history in their own

ubjective ways. All together their tales weave a collective narrative of the African-Americanxperience in Bayonne Louisiana since the times of slavery. Their ability to use speech to fighte silence that previously oppressed them is the first major tool that they use this day todefine their manhood.

everal of the men's stories further detail the way in which the Cajuns altered the blacks'aditional relationship with the land. Johnny Paul evokes the image of a vibrant plantation that

here the blacks once nourished the land while the land nourished them. His observations ofe weeds surrounding Mathu's house suggest the deterioration of the once healthy plantation.nce the Bauton family took over and brought in machines to farm, the blacks have beenowly forced from the land because they have had no work. In the olden days, these weeds


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ould not have existed because the people living on the land would be carefully maintaining it.With the arrival of the Cajuns, however, the plantation has fallen apart.

he Cajun tractor takes on important symbolism in Tucker's story of his brother Silas. Silasrmed his plot of land in the traditional way, with mules and his own hands. When challengeda race with the Cajuns, Silas's determination made his mules outrun the white men's motor.las died for his audacious act of beating the tractor. Furthermore, he died by being beaten to

eath with stalks of sugar cane. This sugar cane once nourished the black community when they

rmed it for centuries. Symbolically Silas's death by the same cane suggests that with thenset of mechanization, the local blacks can no longer survive. Silas's farming techniques mayave been superior just as his mule cart was faster than the tractor, but this superiority does notatter. The Cajun control of the plantation will slowly force all of the blacks out. The land that

nce fed them will no longer nourish them. The sugar cane that they once relied on will now berned against them and may even contribute to their deaths, as it did for Silas.

or the most part, the stories that the men tell in this chapter describe painful histories ofnchings, murders, rapes, and beatings. Together these stories weave together into a collective

y of pain. On the level of the story, the narrators are forcing the Sheriff, his deputy, and evenandy and Lou to listen to all the things that they were previously not supposed to discuss. Onn textual level, Ernest Gaines is doing the same thing. By evoking specific tales of brutality ine South, Ernest Gaines, like the old men in the novel, is shattering the silence that long veiledose crimes. While the old men at the Marshall Plantation have just a small audience to

ntertain, Ernest Gaines is able to direct his monologue to the entire literate English-speakingorld. His powerful persistence in naming those actions that generally remain under recorded

American history textbooks, again relates to the African-American motif of expanding

merican history so that it accurately includes the experience of all of its members. Within thext and outside of it then, Gaines illustrates the way in which the control over language canter traditional power dynamics by allowing for redefinition.


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hapter 10 and 11

mmary

hapter 10: Thomas Vincent Sullivan, aka Sully or T.V.

ully is walking out of science class with Gil when Cal comes up to them and tells Gil that theoach wants to see him right away. Gil and Cal are star football players on the Louisiana Stateniversity team. Together they are known as Salt and Pepper as Gil is white, a Cajun, and Calblack. As fullback and halfback, the success of the two depends upon their interaction. Gileams of becoming all-American this year, but much will depend on what happens in their

mportant football game the following day against Ole Miss. Sully is a white freckled Irishird-string quarterback who is called T.V. because he is a self-described television nut.

al and Sully wait outside as Gil speaks to the coach. When Gil comes out, he looks very upset.il tells them that his brother, Beau, has been murdered. Gil treats Cal coldly when Cal tries to

omfort him, which astonishes Cal and Sully because Gil and Cal generally are best friends.ully offers to drive Gil home and the two leave Cal standing in the hall.

ully learns in the car that the black people at the Marshall plantation may have killed Beau,hich is why Gil treated Cal in such a cold manner. Sully knows about the reputation of Gil'sther, Fix, and wonders if Gil will now act in a brutal racist way. Gil directs Sully down a road

nd Sully realizes that they have reached the Marshall Plantation. The deputy who is blockinge road recognizes Gil and lets him in, wishing him good luck in tomorrow's football game.ully stops his car next to that of Lou Dimes's, whom Sully recognizes as a former LSU

asketball star and current journalist in Baton Rouge.

etting out of the car, Sully and Gil halt in surprise when they see the group of old men withhotguns in the yard. Sully thinks that the scene resembles something from "the Twilightone." Sheriff Mapes sees Gil and tells him that his brother has already been taken to Bayonne.apes is friendly to Gil, but tells him that his other deputy, Russell, is keeping Gil's father Fix

ack on the bayou. Gil questions Mapes as to why no justice has yet been served, but Mapesxplains that he knows who did it and he will bring the person in before the day's end. Gil ispset. He sees Mathu and addresses him: Mathu confesses to the murder. Gil looks confused.

andy then tells Gil her story of how she shot Beau. Gil looks stunned and tells Candy that shelying. He tells Candy that she never liked his family and always acted like she was made of

etter blood than them, but that she is not. Gil tells Candy that she is pathetic and sad. As heeaks down emotionally, Sully drives him away.

hapter 11: Lou Dimes

ou Dimes narrates this chapter. Everyone in the yard is still sitting around waiting for Fix toome, and it is now late afternoon. The crowd sees dust on the road indicating that a car is

riving and Lou suddenly feels nervous. The car, however, is Miss Merle's. She has broughtndwiches for everyone. The crowd is hungry and eats eagerly

iss Merle starts criticizing Lou for his inability to control Candy. She asks him what type of


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William Faulkner himself had a mammy, Caroline Barr, to whom he was devoted; furthermore,e popularized the importance of the relationship by having a black mammy narrate the finalhapter of The Sound and the Fury. The unique relationship between Mathu and Candy explainshy she has long felt devoted to him, at the same time that it suggests the problems that might

xist in their relationship. Candy's need to protect Mathu arises in part because of her affection,et it can also stem for her desire, as a plantation owner, to protect her people in a somewhatondescending manner. In this way, Candy's behavior may be less unique and genuine thaniginally thought.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/soundfury/


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hapter 12: Sully

mmary

ully narrates this chapter. He drives Gil out to Boutan house on the bayou, an area that is filledith Cajun families. Sully has gone there with Gil before and knows that Gil is very friendlyill all the people in the area both white and black. At the Boutan house, Russell, the Sheriff'seputy, meets Sully and Gil in the yard. Russell tells Gil that he is keeping Gil's father, Fix, ate house. Gil invites Russell inside.

he house is full of people. Gil greets his father and some other family members andtroduces Sully. Gil tells his father that he drove by the Marshall Plantation. He describes thed black men with guns who appear to be waiting there for Fix. He tells everyone that Mathuay have shot Beau. Some men in the room ask Fix why they have not left already to mete outstice. One man is particularly vociferous, a man named Luke Will.

il goes on to tell his father that he does not think that they should handle the matter with theirwn hands. Gil complains that he often has been associated with his family's violent past,hich he does not like. Gil also explains that his football playing depends upon his interactionith a black player, Cal. He will not be All-American and win the game tomorrow if he getsvolved in illegal activities tonight. Gil tries to persuade his father that the days of lynchingse over and that times have changed in the South.

x takes this news quietly and asks everyone in the room what they think of it. One of Gil'sother's, Jean, also does not want violence because he owns a butcher store in Bayonne and

inks it will hurt his business. Luke Will angrily labels Gil and Jean as cowards and demandsstice for Beau's death. Several other men in the room also grow angry at Gil's opinions. Fixsists that as the head of the household he will decide what will happen, but he will not act

nless all his sons are behind him. Fix questions one of his old friends, Auguste. Augusteoncludes that they are old men now, but that they could still do something if they want. Fixgues with Gil's loyalties to his family. He points to a grieving woman and child, Beau'sidow and son, near him. Gil insists that the law should handle it. Jean remains on Gil's side,

ven though Luke Will and some other men in the room keep labeling them cowards.

oon after, Fix grows angry that Gil and orders Gil to leave the house. Gil is deeply distressednd insists that his ideas are not wrong. When he gets near the door, Russell, the deputy, tellsil that Gil is doing the right thing and justice will be better served for Beau's son if Gil playsotball the next day with Cal and shows the world that white and black people can workgether. Gil feels despondent and cannot decide what to do. He turns away Sully's request toive him somewhere.

alysis

his chapter cuts to the core of issues behind racial violence within the South. The narrativehifts to the heart of Cajun country, the Boutan's house. Sully emerges as a quasi-objectivearrator who will be able to record the people and dialogue without bias.


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outan family reveals itself to be a strict patriarchy governed by Fix. When Gil arrives, theathered mourners direct him to where his father sits. Gil greets his father with a kiss on theheek. The family and the father have been waiting for Gil, their educated celebrated son whoves in the city. While the family clearly dotes on Gil, with everyone, including Fix, stillalling him by a childish nickname "Gi-bear," Fix definitely controls this conference. Fixsists that only the members of the family will speak and will make the decisions. Gil even

pologizes for bringing an outsider, Sully, to the home. The focus on family and Fix's presencea patriarch could be compared to scenes from the Godfather. Fix is entirely in control, but he

aintains that he will not act without the consent of his sons.

x and Gil Boutan are very different men who represent very different historical generationsthe American South. Fix represents that ways of the older South. He still is prepared to

aintain the subjugation of blacks with violence. He still longs for some type of revenge. Gil,n the other hand, represents the new South. Gil's formidable years have arrived after the mainvents in the Civil Rights movement. Gil understands the need for racial interdependence due

his position on the football team. Gil urges his father and his family not to fight back witholence, but to let the law have its way. Gil and Fix each have differing ideologies that cannot

o-exist. Fix does not like what Gil has to say, but ultimately Gil's ideas win. Fix is an old manow and Gil represents the future. Gil's willingness to stand up and articulate his beliefs hashanged the course of action. Gil's success in this small matter is just a representation of theay that similarly forward young Southern males could alter the historical systems of racism ifnly they are brave enough to stand up and try.

il's successes do not arrive without pain, however. His father accuses him of being unfaithfulthe family and eventually orders him out of the house. Gil almost breaks down in tears

ecause he feels so torn by his diverging allegiances to family and conscience. The ties thatnd Gil to the violent history of the South are strong. But he is not alone. All Southerners andfact all Americans are equally tied to this country's racist past. As Gil does, Americans needtry and liberate themselves from its confining bonds. Gaines's depiction of Gil's struggle

vokes James Joyce comment that "history is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake up."ther African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison, Ishmael Reed, and John Edgar

Wideman, have offered similar analyses. The struggle may be hard, but as Gil suggests it isecessary for a more harmonious future. Gil's efforts will allow him to become an "All-merican" football player. Similar efforts by the country as a whole would allow for the true

ossibility of becoming an all-American countrya country where races are measured equallynd can live with some type of harmony. But first, Americans must escape the confining burden

their past.


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hapters 13 and 14

mmary of Chapter 13: Jacques Thibeaux, aka Tee Jack

ee Jack, the owner of a local bar/general store on the bayou, narrates this chapter. Threeustomers are currently in the bar: a man from Mississippi come to see the football game; auiet stranger; and Jack Marshall, owner of the Marshall Plantation. Jack Marshall comes toe bar each afternoon to drink, but speaks infrequently to any of the Cajun crowd. Tee Jack

elieves that Jack is trying to drink his family's history away. Tee Jack has heard about Beau'surder but says nothing until another local customer named Robert appears. Robert and Teeck start loudly discussing Beau's murder and speculating on the possibility of a lynching.ck Marshall admits that Beau is dead, but acts uninterested. Suddenly the customer who is a

uiet stranger speaks up and tells the other men that the days of lynching are over. Tee Jack isurprised at this stranger's reproof.

uddenly Luke Wilson arrives with four other men, all of whom work at the local cement

ctory. Luke Wilson leads this small crew in regular actions against local blacks. Tee Jacknows that they put snakes in black churches, and turn over black school buses. Luke orders aottle of whisky and some Cokes. He then approaches Jack Marshall and asks about the troublen the plantation. Marshall looks severely displeased to be speaking to someone of Luke

Wilson's quality. When Luke asks Marshall if Marshall is going to do something about one hisniggers" killing a white man, Marshall does not respond. Luke suggests that he will do it forarshall. He also tells everyone that Fix is going to do nothing because of "his all-Americann." Tee Jack tells Luke that he must be lying because Fix has always done something. When

uke grows angry at being called a liar, Tee Jack offers to buy their first bottle of whisky. As

uke and his crew start mixing their drinks together, Tee Jack notices that the ice is gettingrty since those men infrequently wash their hands despite the nature of their work.

he quiet stranger criticizes Luke Wilson's ideas and techniques, and Luke and his crew getery angry. This stranger turns out to be a professor at Southwestern Louisiana University whocently moved there from Texas, who, among other things, teaches black writing. As Jackarshall gets up to leave, the professor begs him to stop what might happen on his land.arshall looks annoyed. He tells the professor to go back to Texas if he cannot take it. Soonter, Luke and his crew physically force the professor to leave. They then order another bottlewhisky in order to get ready for that evening's lynching. As all the other customers have left

e store, Tee Jack feels slightly scared left alone with the Luke's crew, since he knows thatey would turn violent on him in a second.

hapter 14: Albert Jackson, aka Rooster

o

gathering of old men, a - sparknotes

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