Category: of love and dust

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+ african american literature, catherine carmier, ernest j gaines, louisiana literature, of love and dust

Ernest Gaines’ “Catherine Carmier” at 60

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This years marks some major anniversaries for some of my favorite writers. Earlier in the year I wrote about the 75th anniversary of Lillian Smith’s memoir Killers of the Dream, and she also has two other major anniversaries this year: the 80th of her debut novel Strange Fruit and the 70th of her next memoir The Journey. Along with these milestones, 2024 also marks the 60th anniversary of Ernest … Read More Ernest Gaines’ “Catherine Carmier” at 60

+ african american literature, american literature, ernest j gaines, gothic literature, louisiana literature, of love and dust, southern literature

The Most Important Twentieth-Century American Novel

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Whenever I look I look at a list of the most important twentieth century American novels and novelists, the same names pop up again and again: William Faulkner, Harper Lee, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison. While each of these authors and their works are important, for various reasons, I do not see any of them as penning the quintessential twentieth … Read More The Most Important Twentieth-Century American Novel

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+ ashley hope perez, ernest j gaines, of love and dust, out of darkness

The Transgression of Rules in Ashley Hope Pérez’s “Out of Darkness”

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When Jim Kelly goes with Marcus to his grandmother’s house in Baton Rouge at the start of Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust, Julie Rand talks with Jim about the plantation and the community after her departure. At one point, she brings up the relationship between Pauline and Bonbon, stares at Jim, and asks, “Do you think there will ever be a time?” Jim, not sure … Read More The Transgression of Rules in Ashley Hope Pérez’s “Out of Darkness”

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+ african american literature, ernest j gaines, louisiana, of love and dust, southern literature

The Structure of Oppression in Ernest Gaines’ “Of Love and Dust”

by Unknown's avatar

When teaching Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust (1967) this semester, I asked students to think about the hierarchy within the novel. When constructing the hierarchy, students constructed in a horizontal manner, with Marshall Hebert at the top, Sidney Bonbon on the rung beneath him, Louise beneath Bonbon, Pauline beneath Louise, then the Black residents of the plantation on the bottom rung. On the … Read More The Structure of Oppression in Ernest Gaines’ “Of Love and Dust”

+ african american literature, ernest j gaines, Literature, louisiana literature, mass incarceration, of love and dust, thirteenth amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment and Incarceration

by Unknown's avatar

When Marcus encounters Pauline on the road in the quarters in Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust, he becomes angry at Pauline for ignoring his advances while she accepts Bonbon’s advances towards her. He asks, “What’s the matter with you? . . . I been working up there all night like a slave, like a dog — and all on ‘count of him. What’s the … Read More The Thirteenth Amendment and Incarceration

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