Conflict In A Lesson Before Dying

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Conflicts are the backbone of any novel, without conflict stories would not be nearly as interesting! Conflicts can be caused by many things, in this novel the main problem is racism. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines is a novel based off of many internal conflicts between the characters, causing the characters to make different decisions and actions; this is important because the story is circled around racism causing many conflicts.
The story starts off by Jefferson being accused of a crime that he did not commit, he was forced into being with the criminals and was the only person in the store who was not shot and killed. Jefferson, being an African American, was discriminated against by the jury and was sent to jail. “The judge commended the twelve white men for reaching a quick and just verdict”(Gaines 8). This is one of the first events to take place in the novel revealing quickly that the story is taking place in a time of racism. Jefferson was sentenced to death by electrocution, not only causing depression in Jefferson and his family, but also causing many internal conflicts in Jefferson and Grant.
Grant is a character introduced as Jefferson’s old teacher. His aunt Tante Lou is friends with Jefferson’s godmother Miss Emma. Miss Emma asks Grant to go and visit and talk to Jefferson. Miss Emma knows that Jefferson must be going through hard times, being depressed knowing that he is simply waiting for the day of his death. Grant agrees to help and talk to Jefferson so that he dies a man; however deep down inside him Grant questions whether he can actually help Jefferson. Grant is not a happy person; he questions what he really wants in life. However Grant continues to visit Jefferson and attempts to help him, it seems...

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As you can see, there are a lot of major internal conflicts. However, there are many more not so important conflicts that weren’t listed! Ranging from racism to loneliness, the characters in this novel have gone through a lot, physically and mentally. As the novel progresses all the characters seem to go from a negative, depressed mental state to a positive and loving one. Jefferson dies with courage because Grant was able to crack Jefferson and help him, which also ended up helping himself. Miss Emma and Tante Lou are now at peace thanks to Grant’s affect on Jefferson. The only reason the novel ended with everybody in a positive state of mind is due the decisions and actions made because of the internal conflict. In conclusion, internal conflicts are very important to the story causing conflicts and plot twists to interest the reader and pull the novel together.

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