Salt and Pepper in the Same Backfield

I apologize for not not following up the "James Meredith and Ole Miss" post with one on Gil and Cal from A Gathering of Old Men as I said I would. This post will focus on "Salt and Pepper" from Gaines' 1983 novel. Speaking about the violence and prejudice that appears in a novel set in the 1970s, Gaines says, in a 1991 interview, that racism and oppression still exist. He continues by using Gil and Cal as a symbol of progress and hope in the novel. His comments are worth quoting at length:

Another one of the themes running around this story is the idea of working together. The football players are very important in the novel. The only way you can really do things and the only way we are going to be Americans is that we have to work together. While many of the other characters in the novel are trapped in the past, the only ones who live in the present are Salt and Pepper.They're the ones living in the present and they're the ones who must make American work. We've got to block for each other and do all kinds of things to get to the goal. The football players are a symbol for how we must do this together. (Saeta and Skinner 250)

While Gil and Cal represent progress, Cal appears in the novel only once. As Gil prepares to leave LSU after getting word of his brother's murder, Cal tries to console Gil and tries to figure out what happened. At this moment, Gil turns his anger upon Cal: "Then suddenly [Gil] just turned against Cal. Out of the blue, he looked at Cal like he suddenly hated him. It surprised the hell out of both me [Sully] and Cal" (113). Gil leaves, and all Cal can do is just stand "there looking hurt" (114). After this encounter, Cal does not enter the novel again, except as a character removed from the action.

Ultimately, while Gil and Cal represent progress, there is something sort of unsettling about Gil and his role in the groundbreaking duo of "Salt and Pepper." When speaking with his father Fix, Gil continues to intone that if the family does anything to retaliate against the murder of Beau it will hurt his chances of becoming an All American. Here, it feels like Gil's dreams and desires supersede his family as well as Cal.However, this is all part of Gil's awakening, as Sister Mary Ellen Doyle says, because even after Gil rejects Cal and "has accepted rejection himself can he begin fully to see that what he does on the football field has wider implications than his own fame and glory" (184). Russ, the deputy who Mapes sends to Fix's house to keep him and his men there, says as much to Gil.

Upon leaving, Gil tries to decide whether or not he should play in the game against Ole Miss. Russ stops him and convinces him that he should, telling Gil, "Tomorrow you can do something for yourself, and for all the rest of us" (150). Russ begins by saying what Gil can do for himself then he moves on to what he can do for the country and for the next generation of Cajuns in South Louisiana. Russ tells Gil that millions of people will see the game on TV, and most of them will be pulling against LSU because "Salt and Pepper" are in the same backfield; however, that makes Gil and Cal that much more important. Gil doesn't respond to this argument, and Russ move on to argue how Gil can help his family: "You want to do something for your dead brother? Do something for his son's future--play in that game tomorrow" (151). Gil then asks about how this help Fix, not realizing that Fix possibly can't be helped. Russ concludes by reinforcing that Gil can help Tee-Beau, the country, and himself by playing in the game.

There is more to Gil in the novel, but this provides a good starting point for discussing not just Gil's role but also the role of sports in the novel. Football, and other sports, serves as a tool that bring together social change. Just take a look at Jim Brown for an example of this in the NFL or Jerry LeVias at SMU (a video of him is below). In the comments, let's continue this conversation. How do you see sports affecting social change? How do sports play into other novels, not necessarily those of Gaines or other African Americans?

Doyle, Mary Ellen. Voices from the Quarters. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2003. Print.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Gathering of Old Men. New York: Vintage Books, 1983. Print.
Saeta, Elsa and Izora Skinner. "Interview with Ernest Gaines." Conversations with Ernest Gaines. Ed. John Lowe. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1995. 241-252. Print.

James Meredith and Ole Miss

Why Ole Miss, why not Tennessee, Florida, or another SEC team? This is the question I thought about when reading about Gil and Cal in Gaines' A Gathering of Old Men (1983). Of course, you have the longstanding rivalry between the teams, dating back to 1894. The most famous game between the two occurred on Halloween night in 1959 when #1 LSU squared off against #3 Ole Miss in Baton Rouge. That game produced one of the most famous plays in LSU football history, Billy Cannon's 89 yd punt return that gave the Tigers the lead. (The video of Cannon's return is above.)

Three years after this game, in 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to integrate the University of Mississippi. To put this in context, Brown v. Board occurred in 1954, the Little Rock Nine integrated Little Rock High School in 1957, and Ruby Bridges integrated the New Orleans Public Schools in 1960. As a side note, months after the Brown v. Board decision Southwest Louisiana Institute (now UL Lafayette) became the first all-white university in the Deep South to integrate by allowing African Americans to register for classes.

What does all of this information have to do with Gaines? Why is Ole Miss important in A Gathering of Old Men? In the original draft, entitled A Revenge of Old Men, LSU plays Arkansas instead of Ole Miss. However, in the published novel, the Tigers are preparing to take on the Rebels. This cannot be a coincidence, and it goes deeper than just the on-the-field rivalry between the teams. Over the years, Gaines has spoken about the inspiration that Meredith provided. In a speech housed in the archives, Gaines speaks on Meredith:

All summer long I thought I would go to Mexico. But something happened at the University of Mississippi in September of ‘62 that changed my mind. I kept thinking and thinking about this brave, very brave man [Jim Meredith]. And I told myself then that in order for me to ever write that book [The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman] I would have to take the same chances in Louisiana that Jim Meredith was taking in going to Mississippi (ca. 1969). 

Ole Miss, then, becomes more than just LSU's rival in A Gathering of Old Men, it becomes a reference to the tumultuous events that centered around Meredith's integration of the university. Meredith's enrollment at Ole Miss sparked numerous responses, including a riot the day before his first scheduled class. During the riot, two were killed and numerous people were wounded. For a great documentary on Meredith and the 1962 Ole Miss football, which went undefeated, watch ESPN's 30 for 30 Ghosts of Ole Miss. The video is below.

Gil and Cal, working together as "Salt and Pepper" in the LSU backfield, represent what can be accomplished when individuals do decide to cooperate, work together, and respect one another. Their mere presence, which will be discussed in more detail in the next post, provides hope for the future as Russ intones in the novel. What do you think about this? As always, leave your comments below.

Tomorrow night the film version of A Gathering of Old Men will be shown at the Lafayette Public Library's South Regional Branch. Make plans to join us there.