Ernest Gaines Essay

Ernest James Gaines, is an awarded African American author whose work has reached an honorable recognition in the literature world. Gaines was born January 15, 1953, on a plantation along with his eleven younger siblings, in Oscar Louisiana. He was raised by his aunt who will later inspire him to write “Miss Jane Pittman”. At the age of eight, Gaines began to work the fields, earning just 50 cents a day.while he was twelve, Gaines attended St Augustine middle school, a catholic school for African American children, and became active in staging plays for the local church. When Gaines was 15, he left louisiana to join his parents who worked as sharecroppers in Vallejo, California. At the age of 16, he wrote an early version of his

Some of Gaines famous works consist of, “A Lesson Before dying”, “Of love and Dust’,”Mozart and Leadbelly, and many more, which led to Gaines holding numerous honorary awards for his abundance in literature consisting of Guggenheim Fellowship award, the Louisiana library Association Award, the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Prestigious Genius awards. His works have been translated into many foreign languages including, French, Japanese, Chinese, German, Norwegian, and Russian. Throughout his career, “ Gaines has tried to resist being categorized as a “Black”, or a “Southern” writer”(cliff notes). Gaines is often criticized by other black authors because the feel like he doesn't portray the harsh reality of black life. Although, he believes that African American history has been “hidden”, and not “thoroughly discussed”. As in most of his novels, the depiction of African American history is apparent by giving readers an almost real life experience of the problems that black people have to face. During the civil rights period, at the height of Black empowerment and the Black panther movement, Gaines was severely criticized by Black advocates of such movements for refusing to become emotionally involved in the civil rights movement. Throughout all the criticism, Gaines refused to be moved by the