Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho once indicated that “A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.” Unfortunately, Coelho’s statement proves to be true as concerns regarding today’s society reflect similar predicaments that presented themselves since the introduction of slavery to America. However, although current topics regarding social wrongs have been recognized through the development of social media and targeted for improvement, the problems, nevertheless, continue to manifest within the United States. Henceforth, Ernest J. Gaines, an African American author who was born on a plantation in Louisiana, a state within a region considered the “Deep” South, analyzes those societal issues in his 1993 novel A Lesson Before Dying. Because
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Such as when Miss Emma attempts to persuade Mr. Henri Pinchot to talk with his brother about allowing Grant to visit Jefferson by confirming: “‘The law got him…And they go’n kill him’” (Gaines 22). Miss Emma reflects the thoughts of the African American community in Bayonne, for she and the African American citizens understand the racial disparity within the social justice system. Because Jefferson is an African American male who happened to be at a scene where a white male was murdered, although no evidence proves his involvement, Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death via electric chair, yet no one is surprised by his conviction. Furthermore, when Grant visits Jefferson in the prison, Grant notices aspects of the prison that exemplifies racial segregation: “The white prisoners were also on this floor, but in a separate section” (Gaines 71). Grant instantly notices the separation of races as Jefferson, an African American, sits in a cell toward the back, indicating someone lesser, and although every person in the jail is considered “criminal,” white prisoners remain superior in status although in jail, which in itself indicates being lower on the social scale. Similarly, Gaines, through Grant’s perspective, questions the fairness of the criminal justice system when Pinchot confirms Jefferson’s time and date of his execution as he ponders on the circumstances Jefferson faces: “Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?” (Gaines 157). Gaines introduces the unfairness within the criminal justice system as the white males in charge of persecuting criminals, including African Americans, believe they know the truth based on negative connotations about the
Such as when Miss Emma attempts to persuade Mr. Henri Pinchot to talk with his brother about allowing Grant to visit Jefferson by confirming: “‘The law got him…And they go’n kill him’” (Gaines 22). Miss Emma reflects the thoughts of the African American community in Bayonne, for she and the African American citizens understand the racial disparity within the social justice system. Because Jefferson is an African American male who happened to be at a scene where a white male was murdered, although no evidence proves his involvement, Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death via electric chair, yet no one is surprised by his conviction. Furthermore, when Grant visits Jefferson in the prison, Grant notices aspects of the prison that exemplifies racial segregation: “The white prisoners were also on this floor, but in a separate section” (Gaines 71). Grant instantly notices the separation of races as Jefferson, an African American, sits in a cell toward the back, indicating someone lesser, and although every person in the jail is considered “criminal,” white prisoners remain superior in status although in jail, which in itself indicates being lower on the social scale. Similarly, Gaines, through Grant’s perspective, questions the fairness of the criminal justice system when Pinchot confirms Jefferson’s time and date of his execution as he ponders on the circumstances Jefferson faces: “Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?” (Gaines 157). Gaines introduces the unfairness within the criminal justice system as the white males in charge of persecuting criminals, including African Americans, believe they know the truth based on negative connotations about the