In the following essay, Callahan contends that in Bloodline “voice becomes a transforming agent” that allows the characters to realize their identities and pursue changes that will result in greater freedom than they had previously experienced.

In the following essay, the critic provides an overview of Bloodline, commenting on the different perspectives the stories provide on the subject of African American manhood and asserting that their effect is heightened when read as a whole.

In the following essay, Duncan examines the way Gaines depicts the process of maturation and aging in Bloodline, comparing events in the stories to the eight life-cycle stages theorized by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson.

In the following essay, Burke views the five stories in Bloodline as “the record of changing race relations in America.”

In the following essay, Puschmann-Nalenz provides a thematic and stylistic analysis of “A Long Day in November” and views the story as a precursor to Gaines's popular novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

In the following essay, Shelton elucidates Gaines's complex portrayal masculinity in Bloodline.

In the following interview, which was originally conducted in 1979, Gaines comments on the origins of “The Sky Is Gray,” discusses his metaphorical use of colors, and identifies the literary works that influenced the story.

In the following essay, Roberts argues that “A Long Day in November” and “The Sky Is Gray” depict the conflict between traditional, community-defined values and those established by individuals.

In the following excerpt from an interview originally published in New Orleans Review in 1973, Gaines discusses the major theme and characters in the stories in Bloodline, the literary influences that helped shape them, and his conception of the collection as a unified work.

In the following essay, McDonald explores the theme of manhood in Bloodline and compares the collection to works by William Faulkner and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

Hicks, Granville. “Sounds of Soul.” Saturday Review (17 August 1968): 19-20. In the following review of Bloodline, Hicks praises the author's characterization and his ear for common speech while finding fault with some of the conclusions to the stories.