A Gathering of Old Men , Ernest Gaines, the author creates a sense of time by the use of nature and technology.
Gaines helps to relate the past, present and future.
Through the use of nature, the weeds are a constant symbol and reminder that the times were changing. In the beginning back when the black people farmed the land there weren't any weeds. Things ran a lot smoother back then. He black people actually took care of the land while they cropped it instead of burning and destroying it like Beaux's family. The weeds in the story seem to follow the old men no matter where they travel to.