Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Mathu and the Old Men at Marshall

If there's any one character that Gaines wants us to root for right from the get-go, it's our main man Mathu. This might not make a lot of sense at first. After all, he doesn't say much of anything at all. But, at the same time, there's no ignoring the fact that a ton of characters in the novel respect him, and they respect him because he's proven that he's not afraid to push back if somebody pushes him. That right there is probably the reason why he doesn't have to say much by the time we meet him: he's got a reputation that follows him around like a long shadow.

And, unlike some of the other characters, it's well-deserved. In case you didn't pick up on it, it's the ones who fight the right fights that count as heroes in Gaines's book, and Mathu is definitely a fighter. By the end of the novel, though, the old men are all fighters, which is why they're all heroes in Gaines's book, and in our book, too.

Lou Dimes

Good old Lou. There's no denying that this guy's heart and head are both in the right place. From the moment he shows up at Marshall, all he's trying to do is get to the bottom of this so he can keep his girlfriend Candy out of prison and keep Fix from unleashing all kinds of awful hell on the innocent folks at Marshall. Lou is an honest straight-shooter, with a whole lot of nerve and a terrific sense of humor. He's also the guy we hear from the most, which means that Gaines obviously wants to signal to us that Lou is trustworthy, even if he doesn't necessarily know what's going on.

After all, when Mapes has fallen and can't get up, he even puts Lou in charge. Sure, some of that might be because Mapes's only back-up just quit on him, and because Lou is the only white man in the immediate vicinity, but it's also because Lou is kind, decent, and genuinely cares for the folks out at Marshall, which is more than we can say about a whole lot of other characters.

Candy Marshall

Let's not forget about the woman who masterminded that little get-together out at Mathu's in the first place. Compared to the other… well, we'll just say slightly more well-off characters in A Gathering of Old Men (we're looking at you, Miss Merle and Major and Mrs. Jack Marshall), she's definitely got a whole lot more get-up-and-go. She's also about as tough as they come. As far as we're concerned, she scores some pretty solid points for doing everything she can to protect Mathu.

At the same time, you've got to remember that she's just a little too obsessed with always calling the shots, as that little tantrum she throws when the old folks don't want to include her in their little meeting behind closed doors. We mean, she even threatens to kick them all off of the property that her family owns, which is definitely messed up, even if she wouldn't really do it (14.63-4).

While that may just be Gaines's way of saying that the poor and oppressed have to stick up for themselves instead of relying on other people to stick up for them—and that's a great point—there's no denying that Candy is on the side of the old men at Marshall no matter what else she says or does, and that means something.