Racism against American Blacks AS portrayed in Ernest J. Gaines’ a gathering of old men

ABSTRACT

Among hundreds of social phenomena and problems, racism is the most common issue discussed by sociologists, anthropologists, biologists, and even artists. Throughout history and in all societies, racism is considered the most complicated social problem which causes an endless conflict between the dominant group and the minority one. Discussions concerning racism are widely elaborated in many scientific books, references, and literary works. One of the literary works which exposes such phenomenon is Ernest j. Gaines’ A Gathering ofOld Men.

The story within the novel takes place in the rural plantation in the deep part of Louisiana. It tells about racial relation between blacks, as the minorities, and whites, as the dominant group. The relation between both races runs unequally in which the blacks are placed in an inferior position before the whites. The blacks always become the victims of the whites’ racial prejudice and discrimination. Thus, this study is aimed at finding the forms, the causes, and the impacts of racism against blacks as portrayed in the novel. The researcher, then, tries to compare between the phenomena of racism found in the novel and that in the real life of American society.

To achieve the above objectives of the study, the researcher applies a sociological approach which insists on linking the novel with the social context of the American society. Since this study is emphasized on the analysis of a literary work, it is, then, classified as literary criticism. The primary data of this study are collected from Ernest |1. Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men, and the secondary data arc gathered from the social phenomena of race relations in the United States. The researcher himself becomes the research instrument in the process of data collection and data analysis.

Based on the researcher’s analysis, racism portrayed in the novel takes three main forms, i.e. racial prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. Such racist attitudes are caused by the economic domination and exploitation motive and the blind willingness to protect the name and family honor. The impacts of racism, as mentioned in the novel, is that the blacks remain disadvantaged and are lag behind the whites either in economic, life expectancy, and housing. After comparing and contrasting the phenomenon of racism against American blacks as portrayed in the novel and that as reflected in the real life of American society, the researcher, then, concludes that the novel truly reflects the phenomenon of racism against American r
blacks which occurs both before and after the passing of Civil Rights Act of 1964