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Ernest J. Gaines: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers)

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If you have ever watched The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman or A Lesson Before Dying then the name of Ernest J. Gaines is familiar to you. Our author has been selected for inclusion in the series called Critical Companions to Popular Comtemporary Writers. The board composed of high school english teachers and librarians have selected contemporary authors for critical analysis of their works that have become a part of the secondary schools' english curriculums. As with all criticisms the authors' works are examined thematically, analysis of character/plot is given, a point of view and the development of the work's structure. A unique feature to this series is that it gives an alternate reading to the text by using the tools of feminism, historicism, Marxism and psychology.

All of Gaines' works are subject to the above scrutiny but we find some interesting challenges in examining Gaines. First, he defies cateogorization. He refuses to pigeon hole himself as a Black author, or southern author, etc. for he moves beyond the stereotypes placed on genres. Second, although Gaines' works show the Black male perspective there is a strong female presence that runs throughout his books. Third, Gaines appears to fall in the tradition of a literary realist. He depicts things as they are rather than what the reader wants them to be. Such a work is helpful in understanding the works of Gaines. The only problem I saw was the use of eurocentric literary tools in analyzing his work. Otherwise this book serves as a good resource on Gaines.