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The Sky is Gray

             "The Sky is Gray" by Ernest Gaines, tells a story of a mother, her son, and their trip to get one of his teeth pulled. It takes the reader through their journey from their home, to the town and the dentist's office, then to get a meal and meet a shop owner couple.
             Racism is the most major idea discussed in this story. When James and Mama board the bus there are signs directing the "white" and "colored" people where to sit. Another example is when the younger and older black men are arguing about whether things should be questioned. It shows that the older man is content to live with the racism he has had to deal with all his life, whereas the younger black man wants to challenge those that suppress him.
             James is protrayed as older int he film than as in the text. He appears to be about twelve years old instead of eight. He is still young and somewhat naive to the ways of the world though. Octavia is still as hard nosed in the film as she is in the text. She is a woman who knows what is best for her and her child and she will not accept less. She has a sense of diginity evidenced in that whe will not take the extra salt meat offered by the shopkeeper.
             The film is enlightening. It shows how people of different backgrounds view race. The difference in the text from the film is when James and his mother board the bus and the signs directing the "white" and "colored" people where to sit are not shown. The remainder of the story is congruent in both the text and the film.
             The scene of the two men arguing in the dentist's office is major. It shows how one man is complacent to live his life the way he always has and not deal with the issues that surround him. The other shows that he does not believe he should have to accepts the abuses of others just because he is black or for any other reason. The lighting in htis film was too bright. The setting is cold and wintry with an overcast sky.


Essays Related to The Sky is Gray

1. Look Into "The Sky Is Gray"

Gaines" The Sky is Gray, Gaines writes about a southern society in which every attempt possible is made to deny black men a sense of masculinity (49). ... Meyers explains: "The river is Gray. The sky is gray. From henceforth, James" own "long day" will be comprised of this struggle between "black blood" and "white blood" within a cerebal 'sky" of gray"(417). This is what the world is to James not black or white oriented but gray,for James is unable to understand why society is so against his kind. ...

  • Word Count: 1070
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. C/C Revalation and The Sky is Gray

O"Connor's "Revelation" and Gaines" "The Sky is Gray" both demonstrate that verbal altercations can cause disrespect and violent behavior in upper white class communities as well as in lower class black communities. ... In contrast, in Gaines" "The Sky is Gray" we see a young non-believing black, who evokes violent reactions from the older black spiritual person. ... Gaines "The Sky is Gray" brings also the reader into another waiting room, but this one is a dentist's office, filled with black people sitting everywhere, mostly poor. ... Whether white, black, rich, poor, old or young,...

  • Word Count: 956
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Sky is Grey

The Sky Is Gray" Throughout history, racial prejudice has always been a factor in our everyday lives, either on the giving or receiving end. ... In the short story "The Sky is Gray" written by Ernest Gaines, the author tells a story about a boy being raised in a racist society and how he coped with it. In "The Sky is Gray", racial prejudice operates in the typically unfair and organized manner. ... It seems to me that the old white woman and her husband represent the "gray" area where there is no color; there is no black and white. ...

  • Word Count: 886
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Sky Is Gray

"The Sky Is Gray" Deals With Racism and Offers a Courageous Solution That Challenges The Rules of Society. ... Eight-year-old James from rural Louisiana travels with his mother to a white-dominated town, in order to visit the dentist: James narrates Ernest Gaines" story "The Sky Is Gray." ...

  • Word Count: 1528
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. The sky is Gray

In Ernest Gaines's "The Sky is Gray", James is the protagonist and main character. He is an eight-year-old African American, living in the south during the 1940's before the civil rights movement came into effect. He is the oldest of all the children. James lives with his other siblings, his aun...

  • Word Count: 1172
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. CONTRAST ON THE SKY IS GRAY AND THE MAN WHO WAS ALMOST A MAN

In a comparison and contrast of "The Sky Is Gray", by Ernest Gaines and " The Man Who Was Almost A Man", by Richard Wright we experience the hardships two adolescents face on the road to manhood. ... For instance, in the story of "The Sky Is Gray", the character James is an eight-year-old boy who has to provide for his family. ...

  • Word Count: 1095
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The Red Badge Of Courage

Crane used this color to often describe the sun, sky, or even the road. When Crane described the sky he quoted, "In an eastern sky there was a yellow patch like a rug laid for the feet of the incoming sun." ... He often used the color of red to describe blood or the sky. ... Another color that Stephen Crane often used was gray. ... The mood that often went along with the color gray was confusion. ...

  • Word Count: 694
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. reclining nude

There are a few clouds in the sky, they are dark but not threatening. ... The sky has the beauty of the actual sky as the last colors of the sunset fade over the horizon. The sky highest above the ocean is a very dark gray. ... Courbet uses black, gray, a blue gray, and scarlet. ... If you look more closely at how the sky above the horizon seemed to have a pink or purple cast, you will see that it is really a flat bluish-gray. ...

  • Word Count: 1374
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

9. California Recall Election

On October 8, 2003, the people of California, in a landslide decision, voted to recall Governor Gray Davis. Gray Davis was elected governor of California in a landslide election in 1998. Since then, his leadership in office has been put to the test by a major energy crisis, a growing budget deficit, sky-rocketing workers compensation costs, the loss of thousands of jobs to other states and a decline in the quality of education. ... Gray Davis, although reelected to office in November 2002, became the subject of a California's 32nd attempt to recall its governor. ... When all the votes...

  • Word Count: 1271
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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