The stories "The Sky Is Gray" by Ernest J. Gaines and "Angel of the Candy Counter" by Maya Angelou tell similar tales of young children visiting the dentist, and in both cases issues of a racist society are expressed in the seemingly simple act of going to the dentist to fix an aching tooth. Both stories are told in the first person and have the aura of a memory (which in Angelou's case it definitely is). In both stories, blacks are shown at a disadvantage at every turn, and the trip to the dentist is an occasion in each case to show ways in which blacks are made into second-class citizens. Another important theme is the need for strong parents, especially for the young black child facing the reality of racism in America. Angelou's story comes from her autobiography and is in keeping with the overall tone of that work, a book that gains power from the ability of the author to shape her story with language, as one critic indicates when he writes,
The story of Maya and her brother Bailey is horrifying and painful to read; yet the strong and sensitive young woman who endures and overcomes is fascinating. Angelou is a skillful writer; her language ranges from beautifully lyrical prose to earthy metaphor, and her descriptions have power and sensitivity (Guiney 1018).
Gaines covers the same territory in a different way. The stories differ in more than the fact that the protagonist of one is a girl and the other a boy. Gaines tells his story in a more cursory fashion, p
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= 886
= 4 (250 words per page)
