A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines
analytical Essay
1012 words
While we all would agree that racism is immoral and has no place in a modern society, that was not the case in the U.S. in the 1940s. At the time African Americans were treated as second-class citizens, it was made near-impossible for them to vote, and they were discriminated in many ways including in education, socially and in employment. It was a time in which segregation and racism perforated the laws and society, a time in which African Americans were “separate but equal,” segregation was legal and in full force. Apartheid was also everywhere from the books to in society. Blacks were not truly seen as equal as they were seen the the lesser of the two and it very much felt that way. Blacks were oppressed in many ways including having unreachable requirements to vote, such regulations included literacy tests, poll taxes, and elaborate registration systems, but it only started there. The novel A Lesson Before Dying is about a young, college-educated man and a convict, Grant Wiggins and Jefferson. Grant is asked to make a man out of Jefferson who is convicted of killing a white man during a robbery in which he got dragged along to. Grant is asked by Emma Lou to make a man out of Jefferson, so if anything, Jefferson can die with dignity. Something that he was striped of when he was tried and his attorney used the defence that he is a hog. While trying to get through to Jefferson, Grant struggles because he is so far and separated from his own community. He holds resentment toward the white man and wants to get away from his town which he thinks is an on-going vicious cycle of misery. The novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines depicts the social and racial injustices faced by African Americans in the South in the late 40... ... middle of paper ... ...erican Civil Liberties Union, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. "Civil Rights for Minorities During and After World War II." Civil Rights for Minorities During and After World War II. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. N.p.: Vintage, 1994. Open Library. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "Martin Luther King GPS Tour." Civil Rights Timeline of 1940s-African American Events in Atlanta. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. "The Depression, The New Deal, and World War II." African American Odyssey: (Part 1). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. Wells, Colin. "A Lesson Before Dying." Literature and Its Times Supplement 1: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss. Vol. 2: The Great Depression and the New Deal to Future Times (1930s -). Detroit: Gale, 2003. 249-258. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that racism is immoral and has no place in a modern society, but that was not the case in the 1940s.
- Analyzes how the novel a lesson before dying depicts the social and racial injustices faced by african americans in the late 40s.
- Analyzes how the court's stance to criminalize jefferson is detrimental because it makes him lose his dignity as a man.
- Explains that african americans faced many prejudices in the late 1940s, such as a white sailor attacking incoming planes with an unnamed anti-aircraft gun until his ammunition ran out, and the navy refused to recognize his courageous act.
- Analyzes how illiterate members of the black community were turned away from voting if they weren't able to fill out the sheet.
- Analyzes how injustice is social and plagues the book in many ways. when tante lou, miss emma, and grant arrive at the pichot plantation, they have to go through the back door.
- Explains that blacks were targeted by removing the right to vote for certain crimes that they were more likely than whites to commit. manipulating voting booths and administering tests prevented them from voting.
- Explains that in the late 1940s many african americans were at a disadvantage because prejudice and racism were rampant. this is highlighted in ernest j. gaines' book a lesson before dying.
- Describes the civil rights for minorities during and after world war ii.
- Analyzes how the great depression, the new deal, and world war ii affected african american odyssey.
Related
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733 wordsRead More - Free Essays - A Lesson Before Dyinganalytical essayGanes, Earnest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage Books 1993. Genre: Novel 256 pages Setting: The story is set in a small Cajun Louisiana town in the 1940’s.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes ganes' a lesson before dying, which is set in a small cajun louisiana town in the 1940's. it deals with the emotions that this black boy faces because he has been treated unfairly by the white people.
- Analyzes how grant wiggins, a teacher sent to help jefferson, was elected by his grandmother to try and get jefferson to realize that he was not an animal like the white people had led him to believe.
- Explains miss emma is jefferson's grandmother, tante lou is grant’s aunt, and vivian is his girlfriend.
- Analyzes how grant wiggins convinces jefferson that he is a man by visiting jefferson, talking to vivian, and witnessing things around the community.
- Analyzes how grant doesn't know how to convince jefferson that he is a man, and everyone putting pressure on him makes him doubt his intelligence.
- Analyzes how jefferson is trying to figure out how to be a man. these conflicts relate to ganes theme that nothing can be accomplished if you don't have an open mind.
- Analyzes the subplot of the relationship between grant and vivian, which affects grant in many ways.
- Explains that grant's point of view in the novel is first-person, so readers tend to be partial to him in any situation.
- Analyzes how ganes uses indirect characterization to reveal the things he wants the reader to see, especially with grant.
- Analyzes how ganes uses a lot of southern dialogue in this novel. he makes the dialogue fit the person who is speaking.
- Analyzes how ganes uses the tone of awareness to wake people up to the pain racism causes.
- Analyzes how the mood of the novel is sad and the way portrays racism hurts everyone makes you sympathize with the people involved in the conflict.
- Analyzes how the repeated reference to a hog shows how jefferson and all the other white people saw him. the structure of the book is sequential and the events are chronological.
- Analyzes how grant's goal of making jefferson feel like a man when he died was to make him realize that
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1779 wordsRead More - Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dyinganalytical essayReligion and Heaven In Ernest J. Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying, we learn about man, his suffrage, and his development. This novel is a story about man’s soul and dignity. It is a story about a young mans soar to the peak of humanity and heroism. It is a novel of improvement and development.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how gaines' novel, a lesson before dying, is a story about man's soul and dignity.
- Analyzes how the novel assures us that heaven's existence is needed, even if it is not there. people need it to be there so they would not think their life in this world is without justification.
- Analyzes how reverend ambrose tells grant how god has been a source of relief from the grief and sorrow that people suffer from.
- Analyzes how a lesson before dying is about the heroism of resisting and defying the expected
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- Explains that world war ii opened up several opportunities for african american men during and after the war.
- Describes the san francisco bay area's war ii travel itinerary, based on the national register of historic places.
- Explains that civil rights for minorities during and after world war ii.
- Explains salinger, j. d., the catcher in the rye.
- Explains that women's roles changed during world war ii because men were gone and their responsibilities weren't being taken care of. they worked in defense industries, welding, military supply facilities supportive services, shipyard, office work, railroads, day care centers, and more.
1439 wordsRead More - Dignity and Sacrifice Depicted in Gaines' A Lesson Before Dyinganalytical essayIn Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American man named Jefferson is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and, as the only survivor, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, the defense attorney had called him an uneducated hog as an effort to have him released, but the jury ignored this and sentenced him to death by electrocution anyways. Appalled by this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, asks the sheriff if visitations by her and the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, would be possible to help Jefferson become a man before he dies. The sheriff agrees, and Miss Emma and Mr. Wiggins begin visiting Jefferson in his jail cell. Throughout the book, Jefferson has two seemingly opposite choices in front of him; become a man, and make his godmother and other relatives proud by dying with dignity, or, remain in the state of a hog with the mentality that nothing matters because he will die regardless of his actions. The choices Jefferson is faced with, and the choice he makes, highlights the book’s idea of having dignity ...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how a young african-american man named jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electrocution in ernest j. gaines novel a lesson before dying.
- Analyzes how the book encourages making difficult, yet virtuous decisions for the sake of others.
- Analyzes how jefferson and grant create a strong bond by agreeing to grant's request for ice cream and sacrificing for the wellbeing of others in the second half of the book.
- Analyzes how grant has developed a strong love for jefferson and kneels at his desks to show respect for him. even though jefferson was innocent, he used the last moments of his life to benefit his loved ones.
693 wordsRead More - Becoming a Man in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gainesanalytical essay“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”-MLK Jr. In the book A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the relationship between a student and a teacher in Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940s, and how their actions affect the society they are living in. Jefferson, a young black man, is accused of a murder, and is sentenced to death because of his race. Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, wants Grant Wiggins, an educated black teacher to “make him a man” before Jefferson dies. Even though Grant was reluctant that it would amount to anything, but he gave his word that he would try, and soon after a couple of visits to the jail, Grant starts to develop a bond with Jefferson. As the book progresses, Jefferson learns that you need to take responsibility for your own actions, you should always be humble, one should never submit their dignity no matter the circumstances, and always remember that even heroes are not perfect.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how gaines explores the relationship between jefferson and a teacher in bayonne, louisiana, in the 1940s, and how their actions affect the society they live in.
- Analyzes how jefferson develops and changes the way he views himself throughout the book. from the start, jefferson had no self respect and was always putting himself down.
- Analyzes how jefferson, with the help of grant, grows to understand that he is not an animal, but a man.
- Analyzes how a man never blames someone else for what they did. he takes responsibility for his actions and faces consequences, no matter how unfair it seems.
- Explains grant's definition of a hero: someone who sacrifices himself to make his loved ones happy. jefferson made nannan happy by eating gumbo, hugging him, and telling her he loves her.
- Analyzes how grant says to jefferson that everyone has the potential to be great, but the only person who can determine what one becomes is themselves.
- Analyzes how grant describes to jefferson that a hero is not perfect; they are humans with flaws, and that only jefferson can decide if he wants to polish and perfect himself.
- Analyzes how jefferson taught us that no matter what happened in life, stand tall and be proud of who we are. the actions that we choose to make determine what kind of person we become.
848 wordsRead More