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In My Father's House
Ernest J. Gaines Book Review

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Plot Summary of In My Father's House
"Reverend Phillip Martin is a pillar of strength and rectitude in the small Louisiana town of St. Adrienne. He has led the fight for civil rights in the parish. One day, about 1970, a young, bearded and unkempt stranger who calls himself Robert X shows up in town for a meeting with the Reverend. When the two men meet, the young man's burdens come crashing down on both of them, and the Reverend Martin is forced to travel back into his wild and woolly past, to try to make some amends. This 1978 novel is a quieter, more measured tale than some of Gaines's other novels, but no less deeply felt."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of In My Father's House
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Inside culture (main char) - Black
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Father (or standin)
Culture clash? - family young v. old guard
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - American South
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - religious figure
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Black
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 (a fair amount)
United States Yes
The US: - Deep South
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee - hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to In My Father's House
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Second Life of Samuel Tyne by Esi Edugyan
Shifting Through Neutral by Bridgett M. Davis


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Ernest J. Gaines Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
David Loftus  

SCHOLARS:
Kim Fedder  shawnta richardson  deidra clarkIn Louisiana  


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