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The Sky is Gray
Ernest Gaines's short story, "The Sky is Gray" takes place during the time that Jim Crow was the law of the land in the South. We see the story unfold through the eyes of James, a young black boy of eight. Even though James is young, he is not spared the hardships and the racism, which the South imposed on black people at the time. James's Mother, Octavia, knows that life is going to be tough for him, and she tries her best to prepare him for the rocky road that lies ahead by building a strong foundation within him, making him a strong person, if not, he will fall through the cracks of society.
Octavia is presented to us as harsh, but with careful observation, one will see that she is indeed a very thoughtful, loving parent in a way that she knows best. From the very beginning of the story, hard times loom over James' family, and his Mother carries this weight on her shoulders, the weight of hardship and worry. In the opening passage James notices she is worrying, "She's thinking if they got enough wood-if she left enough there to keep them warm until we get back…" Octavia is a strong character, and conveys this to us by her actions, for she is a woman of little words. Most of her thoughts are read and relayed to us by James " I look at Mama, and I know what she is thinkin'." On her mind is James's tooth, which she chooses to take care of, despite the pleas of James not to do so, "Its been hurting me and hurting me close to a month now…I know we didn't have enough money to get it pulled."Even though she is not your typical mother with warm hugs and kisses, she truly does love James, otherwise she would not get his tooth fixed. When James tries to cuddle up next to her, he comments, "But I'm not supposed to do that. She says that's crybaby stuff, and she don't want no crybaby around her."She is a survivor. She is more concerned with her children being strong, instead of soft. She is both mother and father to her children, and the sole provider. Being the sole provider she must see to it that her family has food to eat.
James remembers the time that Octavia made him kill a redbird for food, against his will, " I can't Mama, I can't," I say, and the water just kept running down my face…" This scene is sad because James sees the red birds not as pests or food, but something beautiful. At this point he is forced out of the comfort zone of his childhood and thrown into the realms of being a responsible adult. He was going to be responsible for his family eating dinner that night. He realizes this, "I'm still young….I know why I had to do it….Suppose she had to go away? Suppose she had to go away like Daddy went away? Then who was go'n look after us?. They had to be somebody left to carry on." It is here that we can see that James is beginning to have an understanding of what it takes to live life during harsh times. He knows that he must be strong for the rest of his family. In addition to acting upon harsh times, James learns to recognize strength when he sees it.
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While James and his mother sit in a crowded dentist office for black people, they witness a dispute between a preacher and a young college student. The student comments, " That's the trouble with black people today…We don't question, is exactly our problem,We should question and question and question, question everything." When the student tells the preacher to even question God, the dispute begins. The student goes on to say that because the black man listens with his heart, he will only take what the white man gives him. Of course the preacher does not accept this. The boy goes on to say, "You believe in God because white man told you to believe in God. And why? To keep you ignorant so he can keep his feet on your neck." The student takes two blows from the enraged preacher, and resumes his reading. He does not back down from his stance, but the preacher leaves. James had just witnessed an act of strength, and despite the blows given to the student, he still kept his ground. James thinks to himself, "When I grow up, I want to be just like him. I want clothes like that and I want to keep a book with me too." James lives in poverty, and can recognize that this young student was educated, therefore not living in poverty. James witnessed something that will inspire him to rise above his poor conditions and be like the student; strong and not in the bondage of the white man.
Racism seems to corner them from every direction. The world can be a very ugly place, and as soon as they are turned on to the streets, James sees this. They continue to wait patiently in the waiting room. James's tooth has been aching for over a month, and is starting to make him sick. They are told to come back. A woman sitting next to them comments, "Don't feel d'jected honey…they take you when they want to. If you was white, that's something else; but we the wrong color." This was not the first time time James was confronted with blatant racism, but it was yet one more reminder that he was black, and a second class citizen. They are turned out into the cold to wait until one in the evening. Experiencing pangs of hunger and nearly frozen, James and his mother search for warmth. They can't go to the many caf�'s in the city, but rather, they must walk in the freezing weather to the end of the town, to the only place where black people are allowed. A mother and a small child forced to freeze, demonstrates the unjust and inhumane mentality of society at that time. His mother had pride and dignity. She refused to just sit and get warm, so she orders food, despite their lack of funds. Its much like not wanting to use the restroom at a restaurant, and then run out. She tells James, " Got to pay them something for this heat." James doesn't want his mother to spend money on him, but she does what any loving mother would do. Despite his pleas, she says nothing, and orders food for him. She truly loves and cares for her son. All is fine until she accepts a dance with a man from the music playing out of the jukebox. He is a pimp, and assaults her. "Come on, I'll gut you from you neighbo' to your throat, come on." Up until this point, James has witnessed his Mother's strength and perseverance at the dentist office, through the cold, sacrificing money, and now she physically fends off a pimp at knifepoint. She is a strong woman in an ugly world harsh world, and she hopes that James will learn from these things to be as strong as she in dark times.
Fortunately James will see that not all the world is bad. On their way out of the cafe, back into the cold, they encounter a kind elderly white woman who owns a store. She offers them food and a warm place while they wait for the dentist. Octavia, with her pride says, " We don't take no handout". The old woman can sense how Octavia is feeling, and so she makes James earn their food by taking the garbage around to the front. It is here that Octavia is trying to instill hard working character in him, not to just accept handouts. She does the same when the old lady tries to give her more salted meat than two bits worth. Octavia doesn't take it until the lady chops half of it off. She thanks her for her kindness, and they move on. Once again, turned back into the cold, James turns his collar off to ward off the freezing temperature. His Mother tells him to turn it right back down, " You a man, not a bum." Through the whole story Octavia has been setting examples for James, to be a strong person, to be a man.
Ultimately, in the end James is a man. He is a man, perhaps not in the literal sense, or the physical as we tend to think of it, but in the way that runs deep in a person's character. He has observed the wicked ways of the society that he lives in, and he has seen his mother combat them gracefully with strength, pride and perseverance, in hopes that he will follow in her footsteps. At first Octavia's parenting seems harsh and cold, but we come to learn it is necessary if James is to survive in that kind of environment. Octavia is actually a very loving, caring Mother that wishes to protect her son from the evils of the world by giving him the tools to survive.Please note that this sample paper on The Sky Is Gray is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Sky Is Gray, we are here to assist you. Your cheap research papers on The Sky Is Gray will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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