A Lesson Before Dying Rhetorical Analysis

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, he writes about Jefferson, a young African American male, who has been convicted of stealing and killing, ultimately being sentenced to death. His former teacher, Grant Wiggins, is tasked with helping him die like a man. This struggle among the black characters represents the injustice of the legal (justice) system and the responsibility Grant and Jefferson must face as men because of the racial tension among blacks among blacks and whites, the slave mentality of blacks, and the progression black men must make in order to make their race better.

“I need you much more than you could ever need me. I need to know what to do with my life.” (Gaines 193). In Ernest J. Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying, Grant and Jefferson have their rights taken away by the white community, but in different ways. Grant’s job availability is limited due to his race, while Jefferson’s life is limited because of a false accusation which leads to his death statement of electrocution, but still because of his race. Due to their similar experiences, Grant and Jefferson’s interaction with each other impacts their understanding for one another as well as themselves, which helps them fight racism together, learn from each other and teaches them both how to become true men.

Injustice will always exist; the world will never be perfect. However, never has injustice been more prevalent in a society than during the pre-civil rights South. In his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the injustice of society in Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940s. An uneducated young black man named Jefferson has been accused of murder and has been sentenced to death by electrocution. He is not even seen as a man by the “superior” whites, but rather as a hog. Upon the realization that Jefferson will die seen as a hog and nothing better than an animal, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, petitions the only educated black man in the quarter, Grant Wiggins, to “teach Jefferson to be a man.” While reluctant and frustrated at first, Grant eventually develops a deep connection with Jefferson, and their actions teach the people in the town a lesson about dignity and respect. However, not only blacks were affected by racial injustice. On the other side of the spectrum is a white deputy named Paul. Although he doesn’t face the negative side of injustice, he still is forever changed by his experiences. While Grant, Jefferson, and Paul, are different, one similarity they share is that racial injustice plays a powerful role in all their lives, and in the end, these men do all that they can to fight racial injustice: they win small victories through their actions such as standing up to the system and showing true courage.

Setting a novel in the south during the 1940s bring upon certain racial stereotypes that are deeply rooted in the mainstream culture. While these stereotypes may not always be true, they are extremely difficult to ignore and escape from. In Ernest J. Gaines’s novel A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins struggles to break away from the social norms of Bayonne Louisiana, and finds it challenging to convince others of his own worth. Although Grant has led a successful life, and has a respectable career, his white counterparts still treat him as a second-class citizen. Jefferson is another product of the system, who is also unable to elude the oppressive justice system of the time.

Ernest Gaines grew up in Southern Louisiana during the 1930’s. This time period was also known as The Civil Rights Era, during this horrific time, Gaines became accustomed to the establishment of racism. In his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, the focus is on Jefferson, an uneducated young man who is unjustly convicted and sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. Gaines reveals racism as an oppressive force in Jefferson’s trial, within the African-American community, and within the town of Bayonne, Louisiana.

Every time Grant goes up to the courthouse, Jefferson rarely speaks to him and doesn't even look at him sometimes, forcing Grant to lie to his godmother, not knowing how she would take the truth. With Jefferson ignoring Grant and not wanting to cooperate, Grant must figure out a way to reach Jefferson and find something meaningful to him to prove that he is a man. This next quote demonstrates how Grant lied to his godmother and she learned how Jefferson had been behaving with Grant in the cell and she did not like it one bit.

In Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying,” there are several characters that learn valuable life lessons. This story tells the tale of a black man named Grant, and his efforts to convince Jefferson, a fellow black man who believes he is a hog, that he is a man. However, it is not just Jefferson that learns valuable life lessons in this novel. In his novel, “A Lesson Before Dying,” Ernest J. Gaines is showing that the most important lesson to take away from life is to never give up. The first character that exemplifies this is Jefferson, someone who truly redefines his life by gaining emotional strength and appreciation for others. Additionally, Grant shows this as well, as he goes from a man who wants to run away to someone who appreciates

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 Ernest Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying, he uses the point of view from the third person, to tackle the racial injustice that took place in the south during the 1940s. The character, Grant Wiggins, understands that justice is contradicted in various forms, that it should be equal to everyone, not taken for granted. Although Grant does not believe in justice, he is very successful in achieving it, and he made enormous impact of the work as a whole. For a long time, Grant Wiggins always denied that “white and blacks” were equal in justice.

Ernest J. Gaines, the author of ‘A lesson Before Dying’ is an effective storyteller as he uses vast amounts of stylistic elements to demonstrate his points on characters, racism and stereotypes. Gaines uses elements like biblical allusions to draw subtle references about main characters, such as Grant, Jefferson and even Miss Emma. Gaines uses symbolism to represent key points in the novel like Jefferson's death, the community’s willingness to contribute and the respect that characters have for one another. Finally Gaines uses archetypes like ‘hero’ and ‘the underdog’ for characters Grant and Jefferson to give the reader a perspective of what the characters may have to go through with such a label. Using stylistic elements like biblical allusions,

A Lesson Before Dying, a historical fiction novel set in the 1940s, is written by Ernest J. Gaines. In this novel the reader gets to experience the struggles of a twenty-one year old black man by the name of Jefferson. Jefferson finds himself the sole survivor in a liquor store shooting. Although he is an innocent man, he is found guilty of murder and because of the racist era, he is sentenced to death. Determined to morph Jefferson into a man with dignity before his death, Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother reaches out to Grant Wiggins, a teacher at a local school. Although Grant isn’t sure he can do anything for Jefferson, he agrees to visit him in jail. As the days to Jefferson’s execution wane, Grant and Jefferson form a bond that ends up bettering both men.

Ernest J. Gaines’s “A Lesson before Dying” consisted of important scenes and conversations that best showed the transformation of Grant and Jefferson, the central characters within the novel. Gaines presented Jefferson’s transformation from “hog” to man and Grant’s transformation from a sullen, resentful “boy” to a responsible man who is concerned for others. The transformation of the two men was the most important factor within the novel. In fact, Grant and Jefferson needed one another to make their own transformations possible. Although this novel is filled with racism, pain, and bitterness it does show a remarkable change in the main characters. It all began with a trial in

1940s. Jefferson, a black man, is wrongly convicted of murder and robbery and is sentenced to death. The novel shows the reader what life was like for African Americans living in the south. Because Jefferson was black the odds were against him and he was given an unfair trial with all white members. Gaines uses three motifs throughout the novel to bring out the importance of the book. Three important motifs that Ernest J. Gaines uses in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying are constructive lying, small displays of power, and Christian imagery.

In Gaines’ book A Lesson Before Dying it’s about how a small town showing prejudice against a man named Jefferson, who is black and has been convicted of murder he did not commit and condemned to die. In the book, Gaines did not wastes any time creating a story with imagery, tense tones, and symbols that was full of sensitive antagonism and ruthless realism. The three literary devices used in the book are important because it teaches a great a lesson before dying; because “Only when the mind is free has the body a chance to be free” (Gaines 251). Similar to a scar that does not go away , the depressing unfair atmosphere oozes from the the beginning of the book with unambiguous imagery.

Set in the fictional community of Bayonne, Louisiana in the late 1940s, A Lesson Before Dying written by Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of Jefferson , a young uneducated black man who has been wrongfully accused and convicted of the robbery and murder of a white man, and sentenced to death by electrocution. Throughout the novel there is an abundance amount of motifs and symbols from Jefferson’s Christian imagery for his unjustly conviction, to the symbols such as the notebook gifted to Jefferson from Grant that symbolizes and represents the connection that was brought back to life with Jefferson and his connection with humanity. The notebook also symbolizes the friendship between Grant and Jefferson. Grant gives Jefferson the notebook, symbolizing his desire to teach Jefferson and