This page was created by Jaleesa Harris. The last update was by David Squires.
Archival Connections
The exploration of Creole culture continues in in the typescript draft; Pittman explains, “No matter how White you was if you was not Creole, and had not come from culture, you couldn’t go there.” This specific detail of the “culture,” establishes the group as grouped neither by phenotypic similarities nor racial similarities, but by who is not allowed. In the novel, Creole identity is not given the distinction of culture. Instead, it suggests how the group differs from those of African descent, outside of their physical location and dialect, while only briefly inferencing that European descendants are also not welcomed. It could be argued that Gaines intended to include more detail about Creole heritage in his earlier manuscripts but throughout the drafting process eliminated historical details.