The Sky Is Gray

Ernest J. GainesFiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1963

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Essay Topics

How does Gaines evoke the setting of Civil Rights era Louisiana for the reader, aside from his mention of the capital Baton Rouge?

What is the symbolism of “gray” in the story’s title? What might it suggest about both the story’s mood and the story’s suggestions about a post-Jim Crow world?

What do you think of James’s assertions of masculinity? Would these details within the story work as well in a tale about a White woman and her White son? Why, or why not?