Examples Of Justice In A Gathering Of Old Men

In the story, “A Gathering of Old Men” Ernest J. Gaines writes a story about a woman and her groups search for justice after a man was killed. After many hardships, the problem is resolved even though there are some punishments. The group's teamwork and drive for justice is shown many times throughout the book. There are many ways justice can be achieved and expressed in many situations.

Firstly, Ernest J. Gaines uses Candy’s interpretation of justice to bring out a confession to the murder of Beau although it was not her. Candy states, “I shot him” and then says, “You got to believe me” (Gaines 16). She is confessing to help others although it is obvious she did not commit the crime. Candy later says,” I’ve already told you the truth.” Then

Candy states, “I won’t let them touch my people” and then, “That’s how it's going to be” (17). Candy knows that the outcome will be harsh but stands up for the sake of her people. “He’ll beat up two till they talk, then he’ll take one” (page 18). She knows what will happen but sticks to her story. This shows that she is willing to take the fall if it is for the better of the

One that Gaines states is, ‘He said he was putting all of them on probation for the next five years, or until their deaths-whichever came first” (213). This shows that although they were given probation, Candy and the groups’ actions were successful since none of the men were sentenced for murder. Although they got probation, that is much better than a murder charge. Another example of success is when everybody comes together stopping Mapes and Griffin from taking them to jail. In the story, Lou Dimes walks over to Mapes who is leaning on his car and asks what is going to happen. Mapes says he does not know but says he is waiting on Russell to call. Lou questions why and Mapes again responds with “I don’t know” (130). These events show that Mapes is out of ideas and actions he can take towards the murder of Beau Boutan. There was nothing else he could do, so he gave up on trying to arrest someone from the scene. If he had arrested one, there would have been an outrage by the people and some in the