The Current Boutan Generation Exposed In A Gathering Of Old Men

African American men have been racially oppressed since the time of slavery. A Gathering of Old Men is a dramatic mystery novel set in Louisiana during the 1970s depicting one white women and seventeen black men that each confess to a Cajun racist work boss’s murder. Gaines uses characters to depict the past, present, and future racial relations of the South. The Cajuns are still holding onto the old racist ideals that governed the South. Fix represents the past racial relations in the South, which is inequality between the races. Fix’s ideals are soon to become outdated considering new generations are following new ideals. Fix was not the only one who followed previous ideals. Mapes did not recognize any of the old African American men as a “real man”. Considering that African Americans have been recognized as less than human “ever since the time of slavery”, this demonstrates that

As Darwin so eloquently stated in 1859, “it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” (Darwin), or in other words, adapt or die. His theory is represented by the dichotomy of the current Boutan generation, Beau and Gil Boutan. Beau was murdered by Luke and Charlie, due to his inability to overcome his prejudices and to adapt to the destruction of white oppression. However, Gil Boutan remains alive because he conquered his prejudices demonstrated when he plays football with a black partner at the end of the novel to help LSU win. Another instance of the start of a new era is during the courtroom scene. In this scene, the judge sentences everybody, white and black alike, to 5 years probation. Therefore, equality between the races is starting to show in the 1970s. The verdict, Gil, and Beau Boutan represents the beginning of a new era, the beginning of equality, and the end of