The title of the story “The Sky is Gray” by Ernest Gaines is ironic. It suggests at first the bleak mood of the story but also hints at hope in the future. Just as the clouds clear after a storm, James finds out on his trip to Bayonne that the stormy clouds that are his life are parting to let some sunshine through. Throughout the whole story, a very bleak mood is portrayed. The setting contributes to this gloominess. For example, the weather is awful. James, seeing how cold it was, said, “I seen the smoke coming out o’ the cow’s nose.” Later he says, “The sleet keep falling. Falling like rain now- plenty, plenty.”