|
|
|
|
|
Asa Earl CarterAsa Earl Carter (September 4, 1925 June 7, 1979) was a former speech-writer to Governor George Wallace of Alabama; and, under the pseudonym Forrest Carter, an American novelist. He has been credited as the author of the memorable line from Wallace's gubernatorial inaugural address, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." Although Carter claimed to be part Cherokee, he was the publisher of a white supremacist newspaper and a leader in the Ku Klux Klan. It was under the white supremacist platform that Carter made an unsuccessful 1970 bid for governor of Alabama. Carter's best known fictional works are Gone to Texas: The Rebel Outlaw Josey Wales (1973) and The Education of Little Tree (1977). Clint Eastwood directed and starred in a 1976 film adaptation of the former, retitled "The Outlaw Josey Wales". In 1997, "The Education of Little Tree" was adapted into a made-for-tv movie. Early Life and Political Career Carter was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1925, the eldest of four children. He was was raised by his parents, Ralph and Hermione Carter, both of whom lived into Carter's adulthood. Carter served in the Navy during World War II and attended the University of Colorado. He married India Thelma Walker and the couple had four children. Carter settled in Birmingham, Alabama. Carter participated in various white supremist organizations including the Ku Klux Klan. Carter was one of the founders of the North Alabama White Citizens Council. He was also a speechwriter for George Wallace and is credited for helping create Wallace's slogan, "Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever". Literary Career In 1970, Carter challenged Wallace in an unsuccessful attempt for the Democratic nomination for Governor. After losing, Carter relocated to Texas and then Florida where he adopted the pen name Bedford Forrest Carter, in honor of Civil War general and Ku Klux Klan founder Bedford Forrest, and began his career as a novelist. Carter spent the remainder of his life successfully concealing his background. In 1976, Carter published his most famous book, The Education of Little Tree, a story about a half-Cherokee boy Gundi Usdi (Little Tree) who was orphaned at an early age and sent off to live with his Cherokee grandparents. The state eventually takes him and places him in a boarding school where a minister attempts to assilimate him into white society. Little Tree is rescued by his grandfather. Carter claimed that he was Little Tree and the events of the book were autobiographical, and the book was marketed to young readers as a "memoir." The Education of Little Tree was critically acclaimed and won the 1991 American Booksellers Book of the Year (ABBY) award. Carter completed one more novel, Watch for Me on the Mountain, a fictional biography of Geronimo. He was working on The Wanderings of Little Tree, a sequel to The Education of Little Tree and a screenplay version of the book when he died in 1979 from injuries he received in a fistfight. After Carter's death, it was learned that Forrest Carter was actually Asa Earl Carter, and that many of the "autobiographical" incidents in The Education of Little Tree, such as the protagonist's being orphaned, were untrue. When news of Carter's background was revealed, the publisher of The Education of Little Tree reclassified the book as fiction. Since then teachers, parents, and school boards have been divided on whether to teach the book in public schools. Controversy and criticism In his personal life, Carter often claimed that he had Cherokee ancestry. However, members of the Cherokee nation have disputed this claim. They argue that the so-called "Cherokee" words and customs in "The Education of Little Tree" are inaccurate, and that the novel's "Cherokee" characters are stereotyped. Several scholars and critics have agreed with this assessment, adding that Carter's treatment of Native Americans plays into the romantic but racist conceit of the "Noble Savage". This interpretation is consistent with Carter's apparent racism, but what it says about his success as a novelist is open to debate. External links Bibliography - Gone to Texas (1973)
- The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales (1976)
- The Education of Little Tree (1976)
- Watch for Me on the Mountain (1978)
External Links Carter, Asa Earl Carter, Asa Earl Carter, Asa Earl
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|