The transition from childishness and puerility into adulthood and maturity is, at times, an onerous task. For men, the pressure of emerging into adulthood-manhood to be precise- is an obstacle that takes good counsel and support to conquer. In his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines illustrates how arduous it can be for a male to successfully make this transition, and he focuses on the themes of manhood and self-improvement to effectively convey how vital it is to have support from others and within oneself.
Some may argue that Gaines’s novel establishes foreboding themes of injustice rather than manhood and self-improvement. This is considerable, being that the novel opens with a “conventional narrative of victimization” centered …show more content…
At first, the goal of getting Jefferson to “become a man” by the time of his death sentence seemed impossible. However, as time progresses, it becomes clearer that this goal may be able to be accomplished. A skillful tactic in highlighting this progression was Gaines’s inclusion of Jefferson’s diary at the end of the novel. According to Anne Brown, “Ernest J. Gaines extends the theme of manhood, a motif present in each of his seven works of fiction, through the inclusion of “Jefferson’s Diary”, the most critical chapter in the novel” (23). Jefferson’s diary strategically shows how much Jefferson has changed through his own point of view, which enhances the emotional toll being placed on the reader. In addition, Gaines’s incorporation of this chapter not only emphasizes the impact Grant and the community had on Jefferson, but it also shows how Jefferson himself sees the change and his transformation from a “hog” to a man. Based on the diary, it can be inferred that Jefferson did change his opinion of himself because of “his and the black community’s appropriation of social institutions and of myths and ideologies themselves” (Auger 75). In contrast to the beginning where Jefferson disrespected everyone who visited or tried to speak with him, the diary describes how grateful he was to have the community support him and uplift him as he drew nearer to his death sentence. In essence, Jefferson’s diary effectively supports the theme of manhood and self-improvement by illustrating his emotions and change of
Some may argue that Gaines’s novel establishes foreboding themes of injustice rather than manhood and self-improvement. This is considerable, being that the novel opens with a “conventional narrative of victimization” centered …show more content…
At first, the goal of getting Jefferson to “become a man” by the time of his death sentence seemed impossible. However, as time progresses, it becomes clearer that this goal may be able to be accomplished. A skillful tactic in highlighting this progression was Gaines’s inclusion of Jefferson’s diary at the end of the novel. According to Anne Brown, “Ernest J. Gaines extends the theme of manhood, a motif present in each of his seven works of fiction, through the inclusion of “Jefferson’s Diary”, the most critical chapter in the novel” (23). Jefferson’s diary strategically shows how much Jefferson has changed through his own point of view, which enhances the emotional toll being placed on the reader. In addition, Gaines’s incorporation of this chapter not only emphasizes the impact Grant and the community had on Jefferson, but it also shows how Jefferson himself sees the change and his transformation from a “hog” to a man. Based on the diary, it can be inferred that Jefferson did change his opinion of himself because of “his and the black community’s appropriation of social institutions and of myths and ideologies themselves” (Auger 75). In contrast to the beginning where Jefferson disrespected everyone who visited or tried to speak with him, the diary describes how grateful he was to have the community support him and uplift him as he drew nearer to his death sentence. In essence, Jefferson’s diary effectively supports the theme of manhood and self-improvement by illustrating his emotions and change of