A Lesson Before Dying Analysis

In A Lesson Before Dying by author Ernest J Gaines, Grant is the protagonist who is trying to do the right thing for his people. Grant is in a very turbulent situation, having to make Jefferson into a “man” by the time he is executed. This is the central plot of the story, but not the main themes and ideas of it. Grant is struggling to help Jefferson because he sees generations of injustice through him. “’We got our first load of wood last week,’ [Grant] told him. ‘Nothing changes,’ he said.” (Gaines, 53). The response Grant’s teacher gives him has a deeper meaning: he as Grants’ teacher failed to change the injustice and racism and Grant is in the same situation. “Nothing changes”, but Grant does not give up for the sake of Jefferson, his people, and most importantly, himself. At one point, Grant actually reveals that “it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind. So, he,

Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940’s small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities.

A Lesson Before Dying is set in rural Louisiana in the 1940’s. The setting is ripe for the racism displayed in the novel. Ernest J. Gaines weaves an intricate web of human connections, using the character growth of Grant Wiggins and Jefferson to subtly expose the effect people have on one another (Poston A1). Each and every character along the way shows some inkling of being a racist. However, Paul is an exception. He treats everyone as if he or she is equal to him whether the person is black or white. In A Lesson Before Dying, author Ernest J. Gaines displays the different levels of racism during the 1940’s through his use of characterization.

The Jim Crow Era was peak time for segregation causing Jefferson’s journey in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines to open up the eyes of many, no matter what one’s skin color is, by showing what it means to die as a hero even when seen as the villain. Grant is to make Jefferson a man before he dies by showing him the truths about religion, race, and the United States justice system. Jefferson also teaches Grant a few things about life, creating a unique bond between the two.

I agree with the statement, “At the end of A Lesson Before Dying, desolation prevails over consolation,” because the last chapters of A Lesson Before Dying had a negative and depressing tone. According to Sidney deRogers, “He didn’t pay any close attention to the black truck with the gray tarpaulin cover, but he would tell the people at the Rainbow Club that he did feel a cold chill when the truck went by.” Basically, Sidney is saying that he felt that something was awry, or that something wrong or evil was in that truck. The whole town knew what was happening that day and everyone had an opinion, whether that opinion was indifferent, uneasy, or disgusted/sickened by what was going to happen on that day. Grant says that “It was a nice day. Blue sky. Not a cloud,” but there was an overlying notion of sorrow and fear that laid over everyone in the quarter. One could argue that the end of A Lesson Before Dying prevailed with consolation rather than desolation since according to Paul, “He was the strongest man in that crowded room, Grant Wiggins.” Paul’s point is that Jefferson died a man as a result of Grant. Despite what someone might say, I still consider this argument to be wrong considering that Grant is still upset because Jefferson did not have a “Jury of his peers;” everyone on that jury was white and had no concern for Jefferson’s life. At the end, it seems to me that Grant feels alone since he has spent much of the past six months with Jefferson. He developed a strong

In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American, Jefferson, is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and as the only survivor is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, his attorney calls him a hog in an effort to persuade the jury that he could not have possibly planned a crime like this. Having heard this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, calls on the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in prison and help prove to the community, more importantly the white people, that Jefferson is indeed a man, not a hog. Throughout the book, Grant often contemplates why he is helping Miss Emma; he debates within himself whether he should stay and help Miss Emma and

The fact that Grant considers himself to be better than all of the black residents of Bayonne is one of the many things that holds Grant back from being an effective coach to assist Jefferson in his quest to become a man. Another contributing factor to his ineffective teaching is his lack of self confidence. If Jefferson does not see a worthy example of how to be a man, then he will never effectively become one himself. After a few visits to see Jefferson in his cell, persevering through his own belief that he is not making a difference, being told that he was wasting his time, he realized that he was doing much more than performing a favor for Miss Emma and Tante Lou. He realized that he wasn’t only trying to turn Jefferson into a man. This was Miss Emma and Tante Lou’s way of teaching himself a lesson on how to live his life and who he really is. “I need you,” I told him. “I need you much more than you could ever need me” (Gaines, 193). This quote represents the

After the Civil War ended, many blacks and whites, especially in the South, continued living as if nothing had changed with regards to the oppression and poor treatment of African Americans. Narrator Grant Wiggins, of Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying, possesses a similar attitude toward race relations. Through his experiences with a young man wrongly accused of murder, Grant transforms from a pessimistic, hopeless, and insensitive man into a more selfless and compassionate human being who can see the possibility of change in relations between whites and blacks.

The Right to Be Free In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, although Grant is an educated black man in the era of a racist society he has struggles greater than most men of his decent. I feel sorry for him because of his limitations, even though I view him as a coward. He cannot break free of his background and family. The three main female characters in the novel, Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian, restrict and limit Grant's choices. Grant realizes that freedom means leaving his small town and creating a new life, yet each woman holds a chain that keeps him from his destiny and the right to be free. First, Tante Lou, his aunt holds Grant from his dreams by refusing to let him go his own way. Tante Lou wants Grant to stay

A Lesson before Dying, one of Ernest J. Gaines later works, was written in 1993. Some of his earlier works include A Gathering of Old Men and In My Father’s House. The novel covers a time period when blacks were still treated unfairly and looked down upon. Jefferson, a main character, has been wrongly accused of a crime and awaits his execution in jail. Grant, the story’s main protagonist must find it within himself to help Jefferson see that he is a man, which will allow him to walk bravely to his fate that lies in the execution chair. A Lesson before Dying captures the tale of a young teacher, who by helping another mistakenly finds his own soul. This paper explains the literary background of Gaines, facts about the novel, literary

After the civil war ended many blacks and whites especially in the south, continued living as if nothing had changed with regards to the oppressions and poor treatment of African Americans. Narrator Grant Wiggins, of the novel A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, finds himself in a similar situation towards racism. Through his experience Grant is forced to transform Jefferson who was wrongly accused of a murder from a “HOG” into a man. Although Grant was forced to make jefferson a man, he himself became more of one as a result. Grant transformed from an ignorant pessimistic person into a sensitive and compassionate human being.

There are, in fact, numerous lessons learnt throughout the novel A Lesson Before Dying and they are learnt by a multitude of different characters. A significant number of characters throughout the book gradually evolve whilst story unfolds with this gradient of change emphasised in Jefferson, Grant Wiggins and the deputy, Paul. The lessons substantiate themselves in the words and actions of all the characters throughout the novel; however, it is Grant who learns perhaps the most. Through his interactions with Jefferson and his direct community, Grant, even unintentionally, develops his understanding of life beyond the grasp

The fictional town of Bayonne in A Lesson Before Dying is based on a plantation where the author Ernest J. Gaines was born. This novel took place in the late 1940s a time when radical discrimination was a major problem, and the Jim Crow laws validated segregation and discrimination. Although the major personalities are males, there are three female characters that influence the males to solve the difficulties in their life they would usually ignore. Each female character persuades and motivates Jefferson and Grant from running away from their responsibilities. Tante Lou and Miss Emma convince Grant to make Jefferson die like a man and not a hog, and Vivian makes Grant stay in the quarter and not run away from his purpose in his life.

December 18, 1865, marked the end of African-American slavery in America, where-by black people gained more freedom in the land. However, a power imbalance between the black and white is still present. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines gives readers insight to the immense abuse and hatred towards black people in the 1940s of America and furthers the reader's knowledge of black segregation and how the black people never gave up for their freedom and rights. The novel’s main plot follows Grant Wiggins, a young black man who was given the responsibility to make Jefferson, a black man who was unjustifiably accused of murder and sentenced to death by electrocution become truly a man and not a “hog” which is what the lawyer labeled Jefferson as. Throughout the novel, readers can recognize the great bond created as Grant encourages and aids Jefferson in becoming a man before his “judgment day”. Nevertheless, the novel was not only about Jefferson’s lesson before his death, but it was a lesson for many other characters in the novel. The most important lesson to learn before dying is the lesson of never give up, which can be seen through the actions of Jefferson, Miss Emma, and Grant.

Grant Wiggins is the narrator of the novel. He was born in the plantation just outside of Bayonne, Louisiana. He lived there until he went away to college, and when he went back home, he was detached from the people in the town because of his education and different religious beliefs. He is easily angered and often very selfish. This is seen in the way that he acts towards Vivian. He consistently does not give her the attention or respect that she deserves. He refers to her children as simply, “the babies,” and only cares about the names of his and Vivian’s future children. Grant goes from shallow and selfish at the beginning of the story, to caring and loving at the end.