The Sky Is Gray

6 Pages 1528 Words

“The Sky Is Gray” Deals With Racism and Offers a Courageous Solution That Challenges The Rules of Society.
In a society that is divided by the polarities of black and white, all citizens must abide by the strict rules of separation. However, there are some, and usually only a few, who realize that this ominous society in which they live must not dictate such terms. Eight-year-old James from rural Louisiana travels with his mother to a white-dominated town, in order to visit the dentist: James narrates Ernest Gaines’ story “The Sky Is Gray.” The author proposes that those refusing to accept society’s rules on race relations may provide part of a solution to eradicate prejudices. He is able to accomplish this with a young black man who uses education and reasoning as support, and through an elderly couple who exercise compassion in the story.
The young college man demands radical change in race relations when he suggests that educating oneself in a white-dominated society is part of the solution. The nameless young man quickly becomes alienated in the small waiting room of the dental office, when he confronts the black community’s status in society by asserting that, “We don’t question is exactly our problem.” He advocates to “Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything,” as he does not trust the symbols or the ideology of democracy. The young man stirs many emotions among his own people in the crowded room with his way of thinking, especially that of an outraged preacher and a baffled but amused elderly lady, when he challenges the very existence that they have learned to live within. While the reader is unsure whether the young man’s logic has been widely heard outside the dentist office, he/she can confidently presume that in time it will be, as the determined young man pursues a college education which will enable him “to read and to ask questions.”
It quickly b...