The Sky Is Gray

by Ernest J. Gaines

A poor African American boy and his mother experience both discrimination and kindness during a trip to town to see the dentist.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, School, Race, Literature, African American

45 pages, Library Binding

First published August 1, 1963

About the author

Ernest James Gaines was an American author whose works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works were made into television movies.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines was a MacArthur Foundation fellow, was awarded the National Humanities Medal, and was inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.

Reviews

[Lydia Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is heart breaking.
Every second of it, you are groaning in pain for the family.
For the young boy, especially.
Poverty, the sensitive subject that it is, is unashamedly opened up.
We the readers are allowed the full effects of the stricken world.
The proud mother and the quiet son are tragic yet strong.
This story is literally a tear jerker.
Even the coldest of hearts must melt for the poor, loving little boy.
He quietly suffers in pain, not wanting to spend money to cure his ailment.
The mother tells him to toughen up all throughout and forces on him the manly role, causing him to make hard choices that a child shouldn't have to endure.

This book has no dull points, which is one of the hardest things for a book to succeed at.
I was impressed and interested throughout the whole.

I admire the bold move of focusing on such a sad world--the world of the poor.
And, as a writer, I am of course fond of the author for being able to keep full attention all throughout, never allowing a moment of dullness to interrupt.

[andreea. · Rating 2 out of 5]

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[Persy · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Unfortunately, I was born too late to believe in your God. Let’s hope that the ones who come after will have your faith—if not in your God, then in something else, something definitely that they can lean on. I haven’t anything. For me, the wind is pink, the grass is black.”

Growing up is difficult under the best circumstances— but growing up in the pre-Civil Rights movement era as a young black boy? I’m sure it felt almost downright impossible at times.

This was a striking snapshot of history that gave an unflinching look into the life of a mother and her young son.

[Audrey Shuping · Rating 4 out of 5]

i literally had to shut my laptop and take a lap to ponder my existence after the dentist scene.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“In “The Sky is Gray,” the goal is not exactly reached. At the end of the story, the narrator has not reached the dentist’s chair, and the problem of the toothache, which motivates the present action, has not yet been solved…”(Bell) The setup of this story is based on the premise of James having horrible tooth pain which needs attention. The reader is made aware that the act of having the tooth pulled is a large ordeal to the family. With James and his mother departing for the day, the rest of the family is left alone without enough firewood, the breadwinners are not able to work, and money has to be used that could have been put towards food for the house. With all of these facets, why would Gaines end the story with this quest unfinished?
My thought to answer this question is perhaps the quest turned into one for perspective and knowledge and veered away from the original purpose. During the day in Bayonne, James has his eyes opened by the college student in the dentist’s office and the reader gains a better look into the reasons behind his mother’s actions throughout the story. While the problems the family faces each day are still active and important, the reader sees the mind of James changing. James wants to be like the young scholar, perhaps to have the opportunity to voice his opinions and emotions without reprimand but also to have the luxury of not needing to work all day to support himself and his family. James does care for his family and wants to be there for them, but I think there is a part of him that wants his independence and chance to stand tall for himself.
The title has multiple purposes that may explain the cut off ending. “Gray is the color of sorrow. People who favor gray can be the lone wolf type or narrow-minded.”( Edwards-Wright) Sorrow is no stranger to the family. The father was taken away to war which is a loss emotionally, but also financially. The mother is left to provide for a total of six people with only herself and James being able to work. James is forced to mature faster to help take care of sibling not much younger than he is and stifles his own feelings and opinions to stay strong. The mother has a bitter view of the world and not only grows her own set of emotional armor but forces James to do the same. Another purpose of the title ties into what the scholar announces in the waiting room. He tries to get across that everything in life should be questioned, to not believe everything just because someone you trust told it to you. I think this sinks in to James. He has the opportunity, as well as the reader, to see more of why his mother acts the way she does. While she may force him to do thing that make him upset, like killing the red birds, she ultimately is trying to look out for her family. I think before this day, James held onto some resentment for her and didn’t understand why she was cruel to him. After the college student’s speech, he begins to question his own thoughts. Sometimes the person deceiving you is yourself. As the story progresses, James sees his mother trying to provide him warmth and food all while trying to stay honorable. The title is representing James finding that life is not always made up of opposites, but the middle ground in between. In a world separated by black and white, James is able to find the gray.
James finding this is more important to his future that his tooth-ache. If the story ended with him going to the dentist and then going home to his family with the meat, it may have taken away from what was more significant. Learning has no end, and neither does this story. I hope that James continues to question things in his life and search for new perspectives. To start to think this way at such a young age is motivational. Learning that not everything should be taken at face value is so important and I wish more people took this route of thinking.

Works Cited
Bell, Madison Smartt. Narrative Design: Working with Imagination, Craft, and Form. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. Web. Pg. 189
Edwards-Wright, Tracy. Your Favorite Color Has a Meaning. S.l.: Lulu Com, 2011. Web.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book...it wraps within the narrative so many layers of the black's struggle in America, their history...makes the reader think and feel for the characters, as such engaged with their lives...gave me goosebumps!!

[Ra LoneWalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernest Gaines story, The Sky Is Grey, is a heartfelt story about James, a black youth living in Louisiana during the Second World War. James seems like anything but a childhood, his mind is plagued with worries and concerns that often belong in the adult realm. There is fear that his family might not have enough wood to keep them warm, but a new concern of a toothache has come about and now how will they have enough money to pay the dentist. Young James (8 years old) mind is weighted down with guilt knowing his tooth has a big effect on the family…they might not be able to feed the family because of his tooth. However, the trip to the dentist is weighty too because of the prejudice that exists outside his little community.

Great read!!!!

[Valerie Hoyte]

Awesome read. i love Gaines' use of symbols senses in this story it is one of hope I think. That though there are grave issues of race and class and poverty that Gaines used an "innocent"black child and an old white woman to bring hope and love...a very touching, emotional and humbling story

[Sonia Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sky is Gray is a heartbreaking story of James and his Mama. They are struggling for survival after James' father is taken in the army. Mama tries to teach James that he is the man of the family now. With James' toothache at the central point of the plot, the story takes us through the obstacles this black family faces in terms of safety, racism, hunger, cold and money. It made me tear up mutiple times and shook me out of the comfort of privileges.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

"- [...] And as long as you listen to what your heart tells you, you will have only what the white man gives you and nothing more. Me, I don't listen to my heart. The purpose of the heart is to pump blood throughout the body, and nothing else."

A roller coster of emotions! Reading is highly recommended!

[Amin369 · Rating 1 out of 5]

داستان جیمز و مامانش، یه خانواده سیاهپوست، که زندگی سختی رو دارن و بدون حضور پدر سخت تر هم شده و جیمز با سن کم باید نقش مرد خانواده رو داشته باشه. این داستان کوتاه با لو رفتن جیمز که دندون دردش رو پنهان میکرد روی ریل میوفته. داستان متوسط رو به ضعيف. هیچ چیزی برای من نداشت. پیشنهاد نمیشه.
کنار هم بمونیم.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermosa historia lacual te hace pensar todo y te deja viendo diferentes realidades

[skylar m !!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Wayan Hill]

Very sad story