A Lesson Before Dying

A Lesson Before Dying Grant Wiggins has a responsibility to his Aunt Tante Lou and Miss Emma because he cares for them and wants their approval even if Grant does not realize it at the beginning of the novel. Miss Emma’s godson, Jefferson, is in jail because he “supposedly” killed someone. Jefferson goes to his trail where his lawyer calls him a hog. ‘“What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentleman? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.’” (8) Said…

novels were set where he lived and based on his experiences as a young man. In the novel “ A Lesson Before Dying” show the tension inherent in the lives of African American. Gaines highlights how the pull away from the south divided blacks from his or her heritage. 2. What were the major literary elements found in the novel: conflict, Characters(s), setting, or theme. The main conflict of “A Lesson Before Dying” lies within Grant himself. Grant struggles to cope…

In the book “A Lesson Before Dying” there are many American themes that are hit on. Although, one that was really hit on was the ‘American Hero’. Some people would argue that an ‘American Hero’ is someone who is strong both physically or mentally or that they are in someway supporting their country. In “A Lesson Before Dying” Gaines perception of one is different. The greatest example of this would be Jefferson. He was a nobody before, no one thought he would be of great importance. That all…

it”. In Ernst Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying”, the most important lesson to learn before dying is courage. The novel shows this through the characters Tante Lou, Miss. Emma, and Jefferson. First of all, Tante Lou shows courage by being with Miss. Emma, working hard to get Grant through university, and she believes God will help everything. For example, being with Miss. Emma and giving her courage while Jefferson is in prison despite the circumstances. Before Miss. Emma visits Jefferson…

A theme that plays a huge role in the novel A Lesson Before Dying would be alcoholism. Many characters demonstrate this act in an unhealthy manner. For example, the night of the murder and robbery. Alcee Grope was killed by Bear and Brother because they were in dire need of wine. Jefferson was accused of the crime even though he was only an innocent witness because he also was drunk that night and could not remember what exactly had happened that night. I believe Gaines was trying to show what a…

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines an African American male, who goes by the name Jefferson, is convicted of a crime he did not commit. The book mainly takes place in the 1940’s of a small Cajun community. Jefferson was in the wrong place at the wrong time of a liquor store shooting. He his wrongly convicted to have a death sentence. The main culture of their small community is Cajun. Gaines rarely shows signs of Cajun culture in the novel. The background of Cajun is very…

The Importance of Setting A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is a thought provoking novel regarding the significance of the situation that black men were in during the 1940’s. The novel takes place in a small town in Louisiana that is known for its racial discrimination. Gilman chooses to tell the story of a black man condemned to death through an average school teacher who is pressured to help Jefferson, the accused, die “like a man”. The novel is factual, in that it describes the…

wrote, “Nobody but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” For Grant Wiggins in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Sterne’s quote accurately applies to his character while he assists Jefferson. Throughout the novel, Grant repetitively contemplates the idea of taking Vivian and leaving Bayonne and the Quarters for a place that…

one of them. In A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, the white men still rule supreme over the black community. A black man named Jefferson is wrongly convicted of murder and is being put on death row. Grant, an educated black man, is being put to the test in hope to make Jefferson a man before he walks to the electric chair. Although he is being criticized by Reverend Ambrose because Grant is “sending Jefferson’s soul to hell”. The strongest theme in A Lesson Before Dying is that one man…

as inferior to whites, granted unequal opportunities, and deprived of basic liberties. The Civil Rights Movement demanded equality in the post-Civil War South infested with Jim Crow and Black Codes. It is through Gaines’ literary piece of A Lesson before Dying that attention is shed upon the social injustices in the judiciary system, educational system, and racial relations in a small, southern agricultural community during the mid-twentieth century. However, some might suggest that Gaines’ true…