The Sky Is Gray Character Analysis

What is a good representation of a southern male? Well, Cormac McCarthy, Ernest J. Gaines, Richard Wright, and William Faulkner have similarities and differences when depicting these complicated southern boys and men. The authors described varying male characters who have traits from loyal, amiable, proud, independent, moral, uncivil, abusive, ruthless, and driven. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Orchard Keeper, John Wesley is southern mountain boy. McCarthy characterizes John Wesley as independent, trustworthy, and amiable. All three of these traits are visible when John Wesley helps the bleeding bootlegger, Marion Sylder, escape from the crash. John Wesley is independent in this act because he was already out exploring and trapping in the woods

Then who was go’n look after us” (The Sky is Gray 90). His pride is common characteristic of many males described by southern literature authors. James’s pride surfaces when he knows that he has a tooth ache but does not bother to tell anyone: “She say that’s weakness…I got to set a good sample for the rest. I can’t ever be scared and I can’t ever cry” (The Sky is Gray 84). James’s pride is good example of a future leader: “They had to be somebody left to carry on. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now” (The Sky is Gray 90). In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning,” Sartoris Snopes is a young boy with morals living a complex life. Sartoris’s father tells him that the most important thing is to stand by your family. The theme of blood is thicker than water is prevalent. Sartoris’s loyalty to his father is demonstrated when Sartoris to lie in court in order to protect his father. Sartoris’s morality is clearly displayed when he attempts to alert Major de Spain that Abner Snopes is going to burn down his barn but fails. This image of loyalty versus morality is part of the complication in this male