A Lesson Before Dying
by Ernest J. Gaines
1.In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, an African American man, Jefferson, was sentenced to death by electrocution. He was accused of killing and robing a store, however; he did not participate in the killing. At trial he was called inferior, unintelligent, not a man, and a hog by his own defense. His grandma, who raised him, begged her nephew Grant ( a university graduate) to educate him so that Jefferson can leave this earth a man instead of the presumed hog the court sees him as. Jefferson was reluctant to any sort of help. Everyday Emma, Reverend Ambrose, and Grant would take him food and try to speak to him and everyday he would shut them out. As his time came he began opening up to Grant and people began to feel sympathetic towards him. Though Grant never thought he was changing anything he was changing Jefferson and himself. He opened his own eyes to become less selfish and Jefferson's eyes to a new idea on death, a brighter one. At the end of the novel we see a significant change in Jefferson as he becomes less arrogant and more concerning and thankful of the people around him.
2. Major themes in the novel would definitely be injustice, the reality of death, and the difficulty of changing the norm.
Injustice: though the evidence was inaccurate and there wasn't to much of it, he was presumed guilt because white men seen him. The color of his skin led them to believe he was guilty and not to mention degrade him in front of the entire courthouse. The white people felt superior. Blacks were to refer to them as "sir" and not look up at them as they spoke. Though Grant was well-educated and went to college the Sheriff questioned his ability to make a man of the "hog."
Reality of Death: Faced with the death penalty, Jefferson shut himself down completely. When reality stuck and he knew the date he'd be going we see a significant change in him. he begins writing down his thoughts and thanks for everyone along the way. His bonds with officers, prisoners, Pichot, and Grant grow stronger as his day gets closer. He realizes he owes it to himself to die like a man, even better, like a strong man. He wishes to die a quiet death without so much as a peep out of his mouth, like Jesus Christ.
Difficulty of Changing the Norm: Throughout the novel Grant reflects on how he doesn't seem to be making a difference. In the Christmas seen, we are introduced with the fact that the children are exactly like the parents, not much has changed in society. The blacks are still said to be inferior of the superior whites. Then, Grants old teacher gives us insight as to why he never taught. The real world wasn't ready for educated African Americans this is why he taught them the fight rather than of grammar. For example, Grant is a graduate yet he still wounded up back at home feeling like less of a man because he wasn't sure whether to act like the "nigger" they expected him to be or to put himself in harms way by being intellectually smarter than a white man.
3. The author's tone is a call to attention. Ernest Gaines provides numerous points of unwillingness and strength/confidence throughout the novel. We see the two down-side characters Grant and Jefferson versus Vivian, the Reverend, and Emma. Grant and Jefferson are selfish characters and take it upon themselves to have a pity party. Jefferson throughout the novel plays the victim, which in some cases he is, but often takes the blame out on others. While Grant doesn't even want to help him or Emma. He constantly complains about being in town and cannot wait to go for with Vivian. Vivian on the other hand is always telling him to look on the bright side he is making an impact in lives and is needed at the moment to put his selfishness behind him.
4. Gaines shows many literary elements/techniques in A Lesson Before Dying. He is very symbolic in his writing. For instance there is the food that represents Jefferson's arrogance. Throughout the novel food was offered to him however he never ate it. He even referred to himself as a hog, got down on all fours, and ate like one. When he began to accept the food is when reality came into place for him. Another symbol would be the radio and the notebook. These two items were able to give Jefferson everything he needed. The radio kept him occupied and the notebook kept him in reality and in the end helped him finally express his feelings and thanks. Another literary device can be imagery. Throughout the novel Gaines paints us a picture of just about every scene. For example, when Jefferson gets down on all four and eats like a hog or when Grant and Vivian are at Rainbow we can picture Grant getting into that fight and Vivian chasing to go and stop it.
