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Ernest J. Gaines A Gathering Of Old Men

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In the book, “A Gathering of Old Men”, by Ernest J. Gaines, there are some events that corresponds to issues Malcom X responds to in his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet”. Mathu’s believes in his respect as an equal person and gains it by not fearing white people. However, the preacher Jameson fears the whites and is scared of the consequences of standing up to them. In the book, times have changed and racism is slowly dying. In the story, “A Gathering of Old Men”, Mathu was a character that was respected, because he feared no one. When Beau was shot dead on Mathu’s lawn, he stated, “If Fix started anything, I am going to protect myself” (Gaines30). Being that Fix is a white man, going against a white man at that time can lead blacks into a lot of trouble, such as being lynched. Yet, Mathu was still prepared for the fight. If Mathu did not have the respect he has, then he would have been lynched the moment he and Fix had the altercation at the store. According to the text, “When Fix told Mathu to take the bottle back in the store again, and Mathu did not, Fix hit him---and the fight was on” (Gaines30). Mathu gained his respect, because he refused to be mistreated by anyone. According to the book, “To Mapes, Mathu was a real man” (Gaines84). Mapes thought this because Mathu was not like the other African-Americans he knew due to Mathu actually defending himself. Even though Mathu stoop up for himself, he wanted for the other African-Americans to do the same. Mathu

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