Ernest Gaines Biographical Sketch

Mel is the main character in the story. He is a new student at the school and new to his neighborhood. His neighborhood is predominantly white and they do not accept Mel and his family. He’s also not accepted on the court and his team suffers. The other kids on the team wouldn’t pass to him or his friend Darryl, which leads us into the next character. Darryl also is an African American that is new to the school and the neighborhood. Darryl and Mel are great friends

The main character Anthony is from Cleveland and is described as a vigilant and defensive black boy. On the first day of his new school, he is excited to encounter new classmates. He only has black friends in his old town. Because he had lived in blacktown, he is curious about meeting and making white friends.

“From the twenties through the eighties, whatever else there hadn’t been in Odessa, there had always been high school football” (Bissinger 35) epitomizes the book in one succinct sentence. However, the book doesn’t blatantly state superficial information about football; it follows the Permian Panthers through an entire season and reveals the emotions of a handful of football players. Throughout various parts of the book, Bissinger beautifully utilizes symbols in order to create a better perception for the readers on the lives of the souls in Odessa. The symbols, include, but are not limited to; the railroad tracks, the Gary Edwards case, and the school spending reveal the various facets of life in Odessa.

The first example of society behavior is used through the story of a late thirties white man name Benhard Goetz who shoots four black youths on a subway cart in New York. This anecdote is significant to the novel because it takes place in the mid-80s where society is pointed by drugs, and violent brutality wreaks havoc through the city of New York. Leaving his Manhattan apartment, Goetz hops on the subway and notices four African American youths “horsing around,” and “acting rowdy.” According to the story, Troy Canty, one of the boys, asked Goetz for five dollars. Out of instinct James another one of the boys, “gestured toward a suspicious-looking bulge in his pocket, as if he had a gun in there.”

The setting of the novel is a rural plantation in Louisiana in the Deep South. Most of the story takes place on Henri Pichot’s plantation. He is a wealthy influential man in Bayonne who can influence many decisions. Being set in the 1940’s before civil rights, the whites reigned supreme, and the blacks were still seen as inferior. Gaines uses characters such as Sheriff Guidry, Henri Pichot, and Mr. Joseph Morgan to demonstrate the white mentality towards African Americans (Poston A1). The white mentality causes many negative feelings. Folks says, “Part of Grant’s bitterness stems from his negative feelings about the black population in his hometown” (Folks B1). Grant is always mad and discouraged by the vicious cycle the blacks are put through. “The reader is able to gain insight into Grant’s thoughts and frustrations through his conversations with Vivian, his girlfriend. He feels trapped in his present situation” (Poston A1).

In chapter 5, “The Vanished Settlements”, John Viele reveals information about the 21-year span of life on the Keys. The Civil War, living conditions, mosquitoes, fresh water, and isolation are some of the main hardships that many of the settlers had to experience, but only a few could endure the setbacks and live prosperous lives, as well as their families. Henry Geiger, Temple Pent, and Happy Jack were the most prosperous men during the hard times of the Key West, and through others around them, their stories can now live on.

Like the play, much of the action takes place in Troy and Rose’s backyard, where Troy works to build the long-promised fence around Rose’s property, a fence meant to keep Rose’s family “in,” a symbolic protection of the freedom the family has come to enjoy. The thrust of the action follows Troy’s breakneck monologs, each describing the racism he’s had to overcome as a black man who has done time, played in the Negro baseball league, and then not made it into the still predominantly white pros. Yet, Troy’s inability to see that times are changing for “the negro” only lead to the movie's major conflicts; he cheats on his wife and father’s a daughter out of wedlock because he wants “a different understanding of [him]self” and wants to “get away from the pressures and problems” he has faced in his life (Wilson, pg. 1391, 1985). Simultaneously, he undermines his gifted sons (played by Russell Hornsby and Jovan Adepo), incapable of understanding the opportunities the post-Brown v. Board world affords them, opportunities never offered to him. In short, the narrative maintains Wilson’s pragmatic realism and confronts the diametrically opposed definitions facing black men and women in the world today.

This book is about two black children, Layfette and Pharaoh, who grow up in inner city Chicago. They are faced with racism and hardships because of their race and social class. They have different ways of coping, but are better at facing the worst the city has to offer than are many of the other young black children who live around them. During the story the boys are faced with many adversities that stem from the social system. They are faced with gangs, drugs and Chicago housing. However, they also must face their own inner demons that may lead to either of them giving up and giving in to the corruption of the inner city. One of the major turning points in the story is when Layfette gets arrested for vandalizing a car, even though he says he did not. He gets released and is gets off with probation and 100 hours of community service. After this incident the author gets both kids in to a private school where Pharaoh thrives and starts to make good grades instead of daydreaming. Unfortunately Layfette could not handle the pressure and returns to public school. During this time Rickey starts running drugs for one of the local gangs. He is later arrested for carrying a butcher knife. The CHA finally cleans out the horrendous mess in the Henry Horner basements and reclaims the buildings from the gangs. Dawn and Demetrius finally get an

In his 1940 based novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of Grant Wiggins, an educated African-American school teacher in Louisiana who is constantly faced with racial injustice and inequality in his community. Wiggins is given the challenge of turning a young convicted convict, Jefferson, into a mature, confident man before his last day on Earth. Gaines exemplifies racism, education and religion throughout the novel.

Many authors connect their stories to experiences in their lives. I believe that in this scenario, Gaines is modelling Grant on his life. They were both born and raised in Louisiana on a plantation, they both were teachers, both raised by their aunts, and both have family in California. These are very significant similarities between them that most likely would have made an impact on their morals, values, and personalities. The differences between them are not substantial enough to make one believe Grant is not based off Gaines. These dissimilarities are minor details that are not mentioned about Grant possibly since we only have limited information provided in the novel and the reader can view Grant’s thoughts, but not Gaines. Though, I do

Delaney’s grandsons, Willie Jackson and Bolls Riley, told the story of the death of Samuel Scott, passed down from their parents. Before day, the slaves of Poplar Hill Plantation would go to the barn to pull out the plows, hoes, shovels, rakes, all the tools they would need for that day. On this day like most with preparation underway, seeds for planting located at the rear of the building, one of the slaves walked to the other side of the barn they noticed a shadow, hanging from the rafters was the body of Samuel Scott, he had committed suicide.

Throughout one’s lifetime growth occurs, and the trials and tribulations they face shape their opinions and beliefs of the world. The Death of a Confederate Colonel, written by Pat Carr, shows the hardships Saranell Birdsong, a young girl, experiences and how she conquered her struggles during the Civil War period. Though Saranell’s pain was enough to ruin her emotionally, she was able to overcome and change into a more mature young girl. It is only through tragedy that true growth can take place.

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

A Lesson before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (1993) is a compelling novel based in a small southern town of Louisiana during the 1940’s, 80 years after slavery is abolished. Gaines’ storytelling is highly effective due to his use of high-stake plot elements, vivid first person narration, and intriguing repetition. More specifically the plot elements of the bar fight and the execution date, the narration of the opening scene and the ongoing dialogue caused by the brawl in the bar, as well as the repetition of many thought-provoking phrases. Gaines’ use of high-stake plot elements crafts a captivating storyline that grasps the attention to any reader. An example of this is when; Grant is at a bar when he catches a few of words of the people sitting

Valerie Martin’s Novel Property is an engrossing story of the wife of a slave owner and a slave, whom a mistress of the slave owner, during the late 18th century in New Orleans. Martin guides you through both, Manon Guadet and her servant Sarah’s lives, as Ms. Gaudet unhappily lives married on a plantation and Sarah unhappily lives on the plantation. Ms. Gaudet’s misserableness is derived from the misfortune of being married to a man that she despises and does not love. Sarah, the slave, is solely unhappy due to the fact that she is a slave, and has unwillingly conceived to children by Ms. Gaudiest husband, which rightfully makes Sarah a mistress. Throughout the book, Martin captivates the reader and enables you to place yourself in the