SYMBOLS AND THE SUBVERSION OF HEGEMONY IN ERNEST GAINES’S
A GATHERING OF OLD MEN
Yssa Désiré KOFFI
Université Alassane Ouattara, Bouaké, (Côte d’Ivoire), 01 BP V 18 Bouaké 01, Département d’Anglais, 17 BP 45 ABIDJAN 17
Email: desirekoffi51@yahoo.fr
ABSTRACT
The use of symbols in A Gathering of Old Men satirizes the society described in the novel. This satirical description takes into account aspects like tractor, jail, and electric chair which are images epitomizing and recalling the long history of Blacks and the struggle they have undertaken to fit into the fabric of the society they live in. The reference to other notions like plantation, graveyard and swamp are symbols that typify and remind the suffering endured by Blacks for their full integration in the society presented in their living environment. These symbols recount and bring out the turbulent relations between Blacks and Whites.
Keywords: symbolism, Tractor, Jail, Electric chair, Plantation, graveyard, swamp.
Cite this article:
KOFFI, Y.D. (2019). Symbols and the Subversion of Hegemony in Ernest Gaines’s A Gathering of Old Men. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 8(9), 21-31.
