The autobiography of miss jane pittman sparknotes

  • The novel centers on Miss Jane Pittman as she recounts her life from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, offering a firsthand account of racial injustice.
  • Delivered in the voice of Jane Pittman, an African-American whose long life spans the century between the Civil War and the 1960s Civil Rights movement.
  • The first chapter presents Miss Jane Pittman as a child and slave working for her mistress.

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    The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

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    The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

    The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman(1971) is a fictional oral narrative written by Ernest J. Gaines. Delivered in the voice of Jane Pittman, an African-American whose long life spans the century between the Civil War and the 1960s Civil Rights movement, the novel represents perspectives on the past that challenge “textbook” history. As Gaines noted, Miss Jane “did not fight war [or] make laws,” but her story matters, because “she survived with strength […] the most demanding hundred years of American history.”

    An “Introduction” opens the novel, establishing the premise of Miss Jane’s narrative: a schoolteacher has repeatedly asked Miss Jane to sit for an interview with him. It is 1962 in rural Louisiana, and Jane is 110 years old. Mary Hodges, Jane’s protective companion, asks the young teacher, “What you want know about Miss Jane for?” He replies that he teaches history, and Jane’s life story will help him explain the past to his student

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    The novel begins with an introduction in which the editor explains the process of writing it. The subject of the novel, Miss Jane Pittman agreed to tell him her story in 1962, after years of persuading her. The writer, who is also a teacher, wants to hear her side of the story feeling that history often omits certain things. When Miss Jane begins to tell her story, she is already over 100 years old and sometimes forgets certain things. Because of this, the story is not necessarily Miss Jane’s story but rather the story of a community that applies to many people. The editor also reveals that sadly, Miss Jane died before the novel was finished.

    The first chapter presents Miss Jane Pittman as a child and slave working for her mistress. When Yankees soldier pass by the house where she lives, she is asked what her name is. When the child says

  • the autobiography of miss jane pittman sparknotes