The Changing Land in Catherine Carmier

From the very beginning of Catherine Carmier (1964), technological advancements and their effects on the rural African American community can be seen. When Brother comes to town in order to pick up Jackson from the bus station, he begins to speak with two Cajuns about Jackson's return. During their conversation, François and Paul mention that they are waiting on their new tractors. François informs Brother that everyone has new tractors now and that with them they could complete their work very  quickly: "Knock it all out in one day like that"  (6). Later, in chapter twenty-nine, the narrator, discussing Raoul's  fears, mentions that the technological advancements in agriculture, specifically tractors scare him. Being "the only colored farmer” left holding out against the Cajuns, “[h]e was going to give them hell before their tractors plowed dirt in his face” (134).

The land, and the changing of the land, plays a prominent role within Catherine Carmier. The introduction of tractors and other machinery only helps to exacerbate the already dwindling farm area available to the African American community within the novel. When talking about why Bud Grover gave the Cajuns the best farm land even though they are a tier below the whites in the social hierarchy, Madame Bayonne informs Jackson, “White is still white” (73). Continuing, she informs Jackson that Bud Grover gave the Cajuns the best farm land over the “Negroes” because they produced more crop. They can do this partly because they have the best land but also because they work together. These advantages allowed them to produce more crops which allowed them “to buy more equipment” that would allow them to work the land even faster, thus producing more crops for Bud Grover (74). The increase of Cajun land, amongst other factors, led to a change within the community of the Quarters. As Jackson and Madame Bayonne walk through the corn fields, Jackson notices that the Washington’s used to live in a space where crops now reside. Madame Bayonne tells him that they moved to Baton Rouge and the Cajuns own the land now. She goes on to tell Jackson, “Houses don’t sit between houses any more; now they sit between fields” (77). The Washingtons moved to Baton Rouge, others moved to New Orleans or the North. Still others joined the military and left. In fact, some of Gaines’ friends tried to convince him to stay in the military instead of getting out and becoming a writer.

All of these factors play in to the deterioration of community and the changing landscape. In A Gathering of Old Men (1983), all that are left on Marshall Plantation are the old and the very young. Gaines discusses this very fact in a short speech about the novel that can be found in the archives. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Gaines sees change as inevitable. It will occur; however, there are certain things that he truly wants to preserve on the land. One of these is the cemetery where his ancestors are buried. In A Gathering of Old Men, the fear of the cemetery being plowed under becomes a serious threat. Telling Mapes why he decided to stand, Johnny Paul and the other men begin to talk about the past. He informs Mapes that he can’t see anything but the weeds behind the plantation, but Johnny Paul and the others see much more. They see their lives, their community. Part of that community is the graveyard. Johnny Paul tells Mapes, “I did it for them back there under them trees. I did it ‘cause that tractor is getting closer and closer to that graveyard, and I was scared if I didn’t do it, one day that tractor was go’n come in there and plow up them graves, getting rid of all proof that we ever was” (92). The physical proof of the Washingtons and other families moving in Catherine Carmier has disappeared. All that remains are the memories of Jackson, Madame Bayonne, and the others in the Quarters. The cemetery remains a physical representation of the people who lived on and worked the land. It is a tangible place that can be seen and serves as a locus for the shared memory of the community.

This is only one theme from Catherine Carmier that continually appears in Gaines’ work. I have not even scratched the surface of this topic in Catherine Carmier, let alone in Gaines’ oeuvre. Catherine Carmier explores, as Thadious M. Davis puts it, “the dichotomy between condition of modern plantation life and the values inherent within the people living in the plantation system” (276). This dichotomy becomes apparent when thinking about the ways that the landscape has changed since Jackson left for California. In the next post, I will talk about the teacher figures that appear in Gaines’ work. Jackson serves as introductions to these characters.         

Davis, Thadious M. Southscapes: Geographies of Race, Region, & Literature. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. Print. 

Gaines, Ernest J. Catherine Carmier. New York: Vintage Books, 1993. Print. 

Gaines, Ernest J. A Gathering of Old Men. New York: Vintage Books, 1983. Print.