Introduction Heralded by some as the best African American author writing in America today, Ernest James Gaines is best known and celebrated for his novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. As a black writer, Gaines has taken full advantage of African American culture by writing stories about rural Louisiana. In doing so, Gaines has made himself a country-boy writer of folk tales more grown than made. These stories tell of the struggles of blacks …showed first 75 words of 1022 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1022 total…the anger of local white supremacists for speaking publicly about the necessity for black freedom and equality. They hire Albert Cluveau, a mercenary killer and Jane's fishing partner, to murder Ned. Neither Jane nor Ned's family can seek justice because the legal system is controlled by white hate groups. Cluveau dies ten years later, suffering violent hallucinations which he wrongly believes are caused by a curse put on him by Jane. Book III: The Plantation