A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines

First of all, his education is substantially different than Grant’s education. This is why racism directed towards Jefferson is different than Grant’s as well. For example, Grant is treated differently because of his education, but that does not mean he is respected as well, if not at all by some people. Due to Jefferson’s poor background, he is not treated as well as Grant. He is treated as if he “is a thing that acts on command.” (Gaines 7). The people treat him like he doesn’t have a clear mind of his own. Grant with some kind of respect, but is frowned upon because of being a negro with an education, but Jefferson is disrespected completely. Compared to Grant, Jefferson is more softer than him. Jefferson is not very sustainable to the bad things said about him. Just like the insult of his death being equal to putting “a hog in the electric chair as this.” (Gaines 8). The attorney shows that his death would be as of a hog’s. By showing that Jefferson’s death would have no significance to anyone, Jefferson becomes depressed, which shows his defeat and that he accepts the fact that he is a “hog”, that his life has no

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, the readers meet Jefferson, a black man living in the South directly after the Antebellum period. He is in jail, charged with a murder he did not commit. When his case is tried in court, his lawyer calls him a hog and tries to prove that he is not capable of such an intelligent crime. Through Jefferson’s alienation the author reveals that the values of society can cause a person to feel worthless, but breaking those stereotypes can give a person self-respect despite personal tribulation.

In Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying, we are introduced to an uneducated, simple black man named Jefferson who has spent most his life working on a plantation. In Jefferson’s society, black Americans have little to no chance of progression due to racism. Jefferson happened to witness a shootout between three men in a store. All three men died, and Jefferson was left alone at the crime scene confused and frightened. As Jefferson was leaving the store, two white men stopped him and accused him of the murder. During his trial, his attorney’s only defense was that he was a mindless hog incapable of coming up with such a plot. Most blacks are uneducated and are treated like animals because they believe their illiteracy makes them less civilized than whites. Jefferson is put in jail and is sentenced to the death penalty. While in jail, Jefferson believes his attorney’s words that he is a hog and a mindless creature. Reverend Ambrose and Grant Wiggins are asked to teach Jefferson that he is a man before he dies even though the reverend and Grant have different beliefs which lead to conflicting views.

A Lesson Before Dying, portrays the aspects of Grant Wiggins and Jefferson who lives on a segregated plantation in Bayonne Louisiana. Throughout history, Jim crow laws were inflicted upon blacks and whites and was still in effect in the 1940s when the novel was written by Gaines. Jefferson is falsely accused and given the death sentence for murdering a store owner because of his skin color. Jefferson is influenced and taught how to become a hero by Grant by keeping his faith and representing the difficulties black men face while building their masculine identity in the segregated south of Louisiana.

I found A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines a deeply moving novel, which kept me on the edge of my seat and had a hard time putting down. The novel explores various themes and concepts that surround the education system, filled with multiple emotional moments, conflicts, and surprising moments scattered throughout the storyline. However, the novel does not just focus on the education system and its underlying issues, but it also focuses on human transformation, where the emotional moments, conflicts, and surprising moments of the novel were most evident. Although the novel raises some important issues and concerns that should be taken more considerably about the education system, human transformation that comes around as a result of love, is an overarching theme that stood out to me throughout the novel.

The definition of what it means to be a human or a man, is a topic that is has been and is often discussed all over the world today. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Gaines breaks down the meaning of what it means to be a man thought a character named Grant Wiggins. Grant Wiggins is the main character of the novel and is a very educated African-American man who is also a teacher at a local church in the town. He is trying to define and understand the concept of what it means to be human. He does this to help a wrongly accused man by the name of Jefferson and also to help himself with understanding who he is. Jefferson was, as many say, at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was in a liquor store with two other African-American men. Things got out of control and shots were fired. Jefferson was the only person live at the crime scene when police arrived and he was then accused of the murder of the three dead men. Grant, in the process of trying to help Jefferson, is trying to overcome an internal conflict with himself and also to find his identity as a human being. Ernest J. Gaines has done a marvelous job of incorporating his own past, great plot elements, meaningful themes, and numerous symbols into the novel A Lesson Before Dying.

In a society where hardships occur daily, it is vital to have something to hold on to as an anchor. This reliance or commitment is in the form of friends, family, or even tangible possessions; however, humans sometimes have to fulfill deeds for others instead of continually thinking of themselves. Given these obligations, there results both a need and a desire to complete certain tasks for other individuals, for a community, or even for a higher power. In his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines quite successfully portrays the theme of the importance of obligation and commitment through presenting an effective setting and community, constructing strong relationships between characters, and providing

Many cultures have had “dark” pasts and histories. Some have had terrible wars, while others have had mass killings. Other cultures have had problems with discrimination towards diverse or dissimilar cultures and races. There are many reasons for this discrimination, but in the majority of cases, the most common reason is simply because of a difference between them. These differences can vary from physical appearances to cultural, traditional, or religious beliefs. Differences can lead to a culture’s social status of privilege for one race or group over another. One culture, or country, where this was apparent, was in the United States, specifically in the South. Slavery can be seen as one of the United State’s negative times in history.

There are often many standards that are held to people. Jefferson’s standard was that he was a wild hog, and must be executed like one. When one is held to these standards, it is easy to forget what the identities really are and get caught up in what the storms of life see them as. In this novel, it reads that, “A hero does for others. He would do anything for people

The book “ A Lesson Before Dying “ by Ernest J. Gaines, displays that living in Louisiana in the 1940s, demonstrates the social difference between the mulattos , the african americans, and the caucasians. The following paragraphs will discuss the tension between mulattoes, african americans and caucasians.

In the beginning Jefferson referred to himself as a hog and that he wasn’t a human. When Grant went up to see him with Miss Emma and Tante Lou he kept saying, “It don’t matter’” and that “nothing don’t matter.” (Gaines 73) It’s obvious Jefferson has given up and has accepted defeat, however, Grant sees that Jefferson is more than just a wrongfully convicted, oppressed black man. Grant believes Jefferson can change society if he would not only just believe in himself, but also to think of himself as the most important man in the whole town. He changes his life simply by believing in him. When he visits Jefferson he say, “I hope it’s the kind of day you want, Jefferson.” To which Jefferson responds with, “The kind of day I want? I never got nothing in my whole life. Now I’m go’n get a whole day?” Everyone always believed that Jefferson had to learn where he was in life and realize what a low place he was in and then Grant could teach him that he can define his own life. He teaches Jefferson to die with dignity. And he does, which is evident in his last journal entry stating, “good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man good by my wigin im gon ax paul if he can bring you this.” (Gaines

In A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines Jefferson is sentenced to death by electrocution because he was caught in a liquor store when Brother, Bear, and The store owner Mr.Grope got into a gunfight and were killed. During the time blacks were found guilty till proven innocent. Miss Emma, Jeffersons Grandmother, knows he was wrongly convicted , but can't do anything about it because of how she is. So she has the protagonist in the book Grant Wiggins help Jefferson get through the case and till the night of the electrocution. Through out the book Grant installs a sense of pride and self worth in Jefferson before the day of his death , he also changes the way Grant himself sees the world as a whole, effecting the choices he makes thought out the book.

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, the time era the book took place was difficult for those who were African American, the law ran differently, and people acted different how they do today. Jefferson experienced both alienation and enriching because throughout the story he accomplished on becoming a better person from where he started.

In the novel Jefferson, a black male convicted of murder, goes on trial with an attorney that focuses on depriving him of human qualities. He makes a point that Jefferson is not capable

In the story A Lesson Before Dying, one of the main characters, Jefferson, is often referred to as a hero, but one wonders if Jefferson would fit Aristotle’s definition of a hero. The criteria for being a “tragic hero” according to Aristotle is: the hero in question should be of noble birth and not a common man. The hero should pass from fortune to misfortune due to some mistake or error brought on by the hero himself or herself. The hero should be noble and virtuous but fallible, so the audience feels sorry for them. The fate of the hero should cause fear in the audience. A person must embody a majority of these traits to be considered a tragic hero.