Symbolism In A Lesson Before Dying

A great number of problems were faced by blacks in the late 1940s, which was when Jim Crow was strictly enforced and there was a new growth in the Pro- Civil Right Era. For blacks, everyday life was spent in hostile environments surrounded by conflict and injustice. The author of A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J Gaines, created a fictional town with characters that embodied the struggles black people went through during this time period. Gaines sets the story in a fictional town known as Bayonne, Louisiana, on a cane-plantation, and it is narrated in first person from the perspective of Grant Wiggins. Throughout the story things are seen from Grant’s perspective, but the novel is about Jefferson’s story. Jefferson is a young black man who was …show more content…
The first instance of symbolism brought to the reader’s attention is during Jefferson’s trial when his lawyer is making his case to the jury, and he says, “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). In this statement he called Jefferson a hog, and to Jefferson and the rest of the African American community the term hog is a very degrading word. The term hog is not only a degrading word, but it also symbolizes the way African Americans were treated as possessions instead of humans. This statement causes Jefferson to mentally and physically dehumanize himself just as his attorney did, and now he does not think of himself as the man he is. Subsequently, Miss Emma gets Grant Wiggins to visit with Jefferson in jail with hopes that he can change Jefferson’s mindset so he can die with dignity, as a “man.” Eventually Grant’s visits lead to another symbol in the book: the notebook. Grant gives Jefferson a notebook when they meet for lunch so he can write down his thoughts or any questions he might have for Grant. The notebook symbolizes Jefferson’s transformation of thinking of himself as more of a man instead of a hog. The notebook helps Jefferson reconnect with himself and others who were with him throughout his trial. When Jefferson writes down his …show more content…
By alluding to biblical figures, Gaines gives readers a better insight on how people used their religious beliefs to cope with the troubles. Religious beliefs are what help Jefferson die with dignity, which leads him to be an example on a spiritual level for the people of Bayonne. Through symbols, the reader also gets an insight into the mind of individuals during the Pro Civil Rights Era. The reader gets to see through symbols like the term, “hog,” the verbal abuse taken by the African American community on a daily basis. They either “died violently,” from the violence set against them, or they were “brought down to the level of beast” through slavery. The paradoxical statement given by Mr. Antoine also is an example of not only white over black influence, but it also shows how the opinion of the whites influenced African Americans within their