Beginning of Essay
In the short story “The Sky is Gray”, Ernest J. Gaines shows the struggles, inflicted by poverty, in an eight-year-old boys life. This poor, Negro boy, James, lives with his mother and five other relatives while his father is away. The fact that his father i ....

Middle of Essay
.... but Octavia declines the offer until James does some chores for the woman. James had to work instead of getting a free meal because his mother would not let him accept charity. Octavia tried to purchase some salt meat from the old woman but makes the woman cut the offered chunk of meat in half because Octavia thinks the portion of meat that the woman offers is an act of charity on the old woman’s behalf. Taking the portion of meat that the woman offered would have saved the family some money. Another example of how Octavia’s pride costs the family money occurs in the café. Octavia and James are walking in the cold waiting on James to go to t ....