A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
Critique
Ernest J. Gaines was born in 1933 on a Louisiana plantation in the midst
of the Great Depression. As a young boy of 9, he began his work in the fields.
He spent his childhood digging potatoes, and for a days labor was rewarded
with 50 cents. He was raised during this time by his aunt, Augusteen Jefferson,
who showed Gaines a determination most of us could only dream of, as she
cared for her family with no legs to support her. At age 15, after moving to
Vallejo, California with his parents, Gaines discovered the joy of the public
library. The library greatly influenced his decision to become an author.
While A Lesson Before Dying was written in an attempt to show how
much racial tension there was at the time, Gaines also managed to show how
one can stay close to his roots. I feel that the book was also written as a
dedication to his aunt, to show how the courage of one person can affect
everyone around them. The book also shows in the protagonist's (Grant)
internal conflicts, that one must remain true to their heritage. It illustrates that
knowledge is important, but knowledge isn't just a GED. How can one move
forward in life without knowing their family's previous mistakes? To quote
George Santayana, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
What grasped me most about the novel was Gaines' way of showing his
readers that you have the ability to not only face mistakes in your past with
bravery, but to turn and show the same backbone when looking as to what
your future may hold. For instance, Jefferson has to relive the simple mistake
of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Though wrongly accused he
was, Jefferson was also able to face his execution like a man, showing
unbelievable strength toward his postexistence. Grant, on the other hand, had
always thought about his future. His future with Vivian, his future in a new
place. What Grant didn't see was that he did not know a single thing of his
past or heritage, and before he could move on he had to know what he was
leaving behind. Grant was able to show this to me by saying, "And that's all
we are, Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood, until we-
Richard Rodriguez author and journalist wrote a short piece “Scholarship Boy” to explain to his audience of underprivileged children wanting a better future, the scarifies he endured as a young child: the loss of family ties and knowing himself in order to succeed a better self. Another great author who faced huge sacrifices is known as none other than abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass, “Learning to Read and Write” giving his found audience a look into the various dangerous tasks he took to give himself a better chance of survival. The two pieces show how one boy sacrificed so much in order to free himself and the other coming from less harsh circumstances but understand sacrifices just as well. All to be able to have a better and brighter future.
If Grant did not have influences in his life to convince him to stay, it’s unsure if he would have or not. Tante Lou, Grant’s aunt, is a major influence on him. He lives with her, so he has a certain amount of respect for her. Along with Miss Emma, Tante Lou wants Grant to stay and help Jefferson. At the beginning of the novel, the only person Grant really has a liking toward is Vivian. Vivian is the most substantial influence on Grant. Vivian encourages Grant to visit Jefferson. If it weren’t for her, Grant probably would not have done it. Grant makes it known he would do anything for Vivian, and he kept going back to the jail. These influences guided a change in Grant that wouldn’t have been possible if he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be swayed by their
Gaines technique allows the characters to reveal themselves and their relations with others. We hear the story through the voices of the old black men, a black woman, a child, and the white narrators. We not only see the conflicts of the blacks, but also the conflicts of the Cajuns as well.
The Dying of the Light is an article by Dr. Craig Bowron that captures the controversy surrounding the role of medication in prolonging life. The author describes that many medical advancements have become a burden to particularly elderly patients who in most instances are ready to embrace the reality of death. Dr. Bowron believes that dying in these modern times has become a tiring and unnatural process. “Everyone wants to grow old and die in his or her sleep, but the truth is most of us will die in pieces,” Bowron notes (Bowron). The article does not advocate for euthanasia or the management of health care costs due to terminal or chronic illness. Bowron faults humanity for not embracing life and death with dignity as it was in the past. He blames the emergence of modern medical advances and democracy as the sole reason why everyone is pursuing immortality or prolonging of life rather than embracing the natural course of things. The article is very articulate and comes out rather persuasive to its target audience that happens to be health-conscious. Craig Bowron uses effective rhetorical strategies such as logos, ethos, and pathos to pass on his message. The article’s credibility is impeccable due to the author’s authority in health matters as he is a hospital-based internist. A better placed individual to dissect this issue by analyzing his experiences in the healthcare profession. The article incorporates a passionate delivery that appeals to the readers’ hopes, opinions, and imagination.
Life is short and it is up to you to make the most out of it. The most important lesson that everyone should follow and apply to everyday life is “never give up”. In the novel, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, the important lesson can be shown in the characters Jefferson, Miss Emma and Grant Wiggins.
Death and Grieving Imagine that the person you love most in the world dies. How would you cope with the loss? Death and grieving is an agonizing and inevitable part of life. No one is immune from death’s insidious and frigid grip. Individuals vary in their emotional reactions to loss.
“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” address their abilities of being self taught to read and write. A deficiency of education makes it difficult to traverse life in any case your race. Being an African American while in a dark period of mistreatment and making progress toward an advanced education demonstrates extraordinary devotion. Malcolm X seized “special pains” in searching to inform himself on “black history” (Malcolm X 3). African Americans have been persecuted all through history, yet two men endeavor to demonstrate that regardless of your past, an education can be acquired by anybody. Douglass and Malcolm X share some similarities on how they learned how to read and write as well
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.
Though Grant may have had some advantages compared with Jefferson, his position in life was not significantly better than Jefferson’s. Grant knows that if he had been the black man sitting in the courtroom, he too would have been convicted. In his powerful opening to the novel, Grant says, "I was not there yet I was there...
.... In his life the restriction by the whites didn’t stop or discourage him from following his dream, which made him unique and outstanding. He was capable of thinking for himself, even though the whites had tried to “guide” him like the other blacks.
...he past, but Douglass and Precious can use their connections with the past as means to avoid its mistakes. So all three find a personal use for what once was reality as a promise for a more fulfilling reality in the future. And in a certain sense, all three find emancipation through their disparate relationships with literacy.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass is written to have people place their feet in the shoes of Frederick Douglass and try to understand the experience he went through as a slave. Douglass writes this piece of literature with strong wording to get his point across. He is not trying to point out the unpleasant parts of history, but to make people face the truth. He wants readers to realize that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that some slaves, like himself, have intellectual ability. These points are commonly presented through the words of Douglass because of his diction.
The second characteristic that shows society does not defeat Jefferson is Jefferson’s remaining strong compassion for everyone around him. This shows that through defeat, Jefferson remains a strong person by not holding any grudges against his incarcerators. A selection from his diary reads, “This was the firs time I cry when they lok that door bahind me the very firs time…I was cryin cause of the bok an the marble he giv me and cause o the people that com to see me” (231). Jefferson displays tenderness, which is an obvious sign that Jefferson has not let his imprisonment destroy him.
By the time she was 13 she was living in a shelter with her mom and her youngest sister which is
What is death? What makes death such an avoided subject? According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, death is defined as: the permanent cessation of vital functions; the end of life. So maybe we fear death and death’s process because the thought of life ending is unbearable or because we know little about the dying process and naturally, as humans, we fear the unknown. These all may be true and in most cases probably are. But if one was to take a look at death and the process and consider the true meaning of that very moment in one’s life, maybe we would view it differently and maybe, just maybe, see life itself in a whole new way?! Marie de Hennezel, in her book Intimate Death defines death as . . . “our life’s culmination, it’s crowning moment and what gives it both sense and worth” (xi). She sheds light on the positive side of death, the part no one thinks about or acknowledges. And she shows us that death can in fact make us see how amazing life can be. In his book, The Body Silent, Robert Murphy shares with us the changes in life and actions of society when faced with the process of death.