A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines For my independent reading project, I chose A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. This novel depicts a dramatic and complex prison experience. The main setting is in a non existent town called Bayonne, Louisiana in the time period prior to Civil Rights for African Americans. The most important scenes occur in the prison. In this time period, the characters face extreme racial discrimination and traps both main characters, Grant Wiggins and Jefferson, in two different types of prisons; Grant’s being mental and Jefferson’s being a legitimate physical prison. The story is told in the view of Grant Wiggins who is an African American teacher at a plantation school. Grant is also one of the protagonists, while the other is Jefferson. The main focus ,however, is on Jefferson, is a twenty one year old,African American, uneducated laborer. The story’s first conflict begins with Jefferson being falsely accused of robbery and murder of a white man and is sentenced to be executed as a punishment for these crimes he did not commit mostly due to his race.
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Jefferson’s attorney has an extreme racial bias towards him and his only defense for him is to explain he is simply too uneducated to successfully plan out a robbery and murder, truly dehumanizing him. This is shown when the attorney states, “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.” (pg.8) The one outstanding major conflict of the book begins when Jefferson is sentenced to be executed, his godmother Miss Emma, asks Grant to help Jefferson die with dignity. Dying with dignity is definitely the major conflict of the whole book. As Grant struggles to help teach Jefferson and give him some sense of dignity, we see a gradual transformation in both characters. Jefferson changes from a truly angry, silent, and hurt man to a passionate, brave, and independent man. We also see a change in Grant as he faces the problems of a racist, primarily white society and his own problems reflected through Jefferson. There are countless events that played a key role in determining the fate of Jefferson. One of these significant happenings includes the first accusing of Jefferson robbing and murdering a white man. This event just goes to show the true underlying racial bias in the law system at this time period and the racial conflicts in general during the pre-Civil Rights era. The next significant event that occurs is Jefferson’s attorney’s way of defending him, simply saying he is too uneducated to plan out such crimes. Also the chosen fate for Jefferson, execution by the electric chair is obviously key in the novel. Again, furthering the racial discrimination and pure hatred throughout this era by putting an innocent African American to death. Both of these events generally prove that justice is incapable of prevailing when it is dominated by a single, racially biased group of people. The next important event is on the fifth visit to Jefferson’s cell, Grant is alone and Jefferson begins to sarcastically and angrily acting like a hog in order to make Grant feel guilty. This event shows the characteristics and vibe Jefferson was giving off prior to Grant’s teachings and words. The next important event that occurs is yet another visit to Jefferson’s cell by Grant. In this scene, Grant asks Jefferson if he knew what “moral” meant and tells him that people have obligations to each other but Jefferson insists he is a hog and not a person. This scene is crucial to the reader 's understanding that Jefferson is clearly not only physically imprisoned but also imprisoned in his mind, trapped by the anger over being compared to a mindless hog. The next significant event is when Jefferson finally begins opening up to Grant by asking for a gallon of ice cream and a new radio, which he …show more content…
The first main message is the redemption in death. Jefferson began as an average, uneducated laborer. When he was accused he became almost barbaric and extremely angry due to the unjust and cruel racial boundaries put on him, tying in with the other theme of breaking through boundaries and stereotypes. In the end, however, Jefferson comes to peace with himself mentally and found final rest when he is
Jefferson’s attorney has an extreme racial bias towards him and his only defense for him is to explain he is simply too uneducated to successfully plan out a robbery and murder, truly dehumanizing him. This is shown when the attorney states, “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.” (pg.8) The one outstanding major conflict of the book begins when Jefferson is sentenced to be executed, his godmother Miss Emma, asks Grant to help Jefferson die with dignity. Dying with dignity is definitely the major conflict of the whole book. As Grant struggles to help teach Jefferson and give him some sense of dignity, we see a gradual transformation in both characters. Jefferson changes from a truly angry, silent, and hurt man to a passionate, brave, and independent man. We also see a change in Grant as he faces the problems of a racist, primarily white society and his own problems reflected through Jefferson. There are countless events that played a key role in determining the fate of Jefferson. One of these significant happenings includes the first accusing of Jefferson robbing and murdering a white man. This event just goes to show the true underlying racial bias in the law system at this time period and the racial conflicts in general during the pre-Civil Rights era. The next significant event that occurs is Jefferson’s attorney’s way of defending him, simply saying he is too uneducated to plan out such crimes. Also the chosen fate for Jefferson, execution by the electric chair is obviously key in the novel. Again, furthering the racial discrimination and pure hatred throughout this era by putting an innocent African American to death. Both of these events generally prove that justice is incapable of prevailing when it is dominated by a single, racially biased group of people. The next important event is on the fifth visit to Jefferson’s cell, Grant is alone and Jefferson begins to sarcastically and angrily acting like a hog in order to make Grant feel guilty. This event shows the characteristics and vibe Jefferson was giving off prior to Grant’s teachings and words. The next important event that occurs is yet another visit to Jefferson’s cell by Grant. In this scene, Grant asks Jefferson if he knew what “moral” meant and tells him that people have obligations to each other but Jefferson insists he is a hog and not a person. This scene is crucial to the reader 's understanding that Jefferson is clearly not only physically imprisoned but also imprisoned in his mind, trapped by the anger over being compared to a mindless hog. The next significant event is when Jefferson finally begins opening up to Grant by asking for a gallon of ice cream and a new radio, which he …show more content…
The first main message is the redemption in death. Jefferson began as an average, uneducated laborer. When he was accused he became almost barbaric and extremely angry due to the unjust and cruel racial boundaries put on him, tying in with the other theme of breaking through boundaries and stereotypes. In the end, however, Jefferson comes to peace with himself mentally and found final rest when he is