"The motive that these women have on the male characters is a significant one. Gaines eloquently depicts Tante Lou and Miss Emma, both African American women. They were a big part in many of the male characters' lives. Whether it was being house maids at the Henri Pichot's house, or becoming surrogate mothers for our protagonist grant, they were important to those in their immediate community.…
This quote is important because it allows me to understand the similar perspective that Matthew Antoine and Grant Wiggins have on what it is like for A black man in the south. Matthew seemed to have regretted staying in the south and not being anything or anybody there. Grant however, struggles with whether or not to stay or escape his roots and home. Both of the men appear to be bitter and cynical of the way they are treated unfairly. This Piece of advice was given to grant by his old teacher, before he died.…
Ernest J. Gaines was born in Oscar, Louisiana, so this can explain the setting of the story. The struggle would be similar in both places. Lots of things in A Lesson Before Dying reflect his own life. Gaines wasa born on a plantation (where he lived in slave cabins of former slaves), went to school in a one-room church (much like the one Grant taught at), his mother and step-father moved from the south, and the strongest adult influence was his great aunt (like Tante Lou).…
In “A lesson Before Dying”, Grant Wiggins, who was the main character, learned some life lessons that started to help him see life more importantly throughout the story. There were characters throughout the novel who helped influence Grant Wiggin’s life. Vivian and Jefferson were two of the characters that influenced Grant’s life. At the beginning of the novel, Vivian and Jefferson both helped teach Grant various very important life lessons that he had needed to know. Grant was taught to love someone other than himself, that he could make a difference in someone's life, and also that he could make a difference in the community he was living in.…
A Lesson Before Dying and Making a Murderer have many similarities. First, it all has to do with murder. Jefferson got accused of murder as well as Steven. They were both sent to jail after all but the only difference is Jefferson wasn’t in jail for long and got killed. Secondly, they were both accused of crime that they never did. Jefferson was a bystander of the whole situation in the book, the only problem was his was trying to take money and Liquor after the whole shooting situation, he didn’t kill anybody. Steven on the other hand was first accused with rape and served eighteen years in prison just for them to figure out it wasn’t him unlike Jefferson's first crime and only crime, Steven has two accusations. The murder acquisition is…
Professor Wiggins in a Lesson Before Dying is the very educated black man. He has been to college and got a degree. And after he got a degree he come back home to teach at the same school that he went to growing up. Professor wiggins went to school in the deep south part of Louisiana where the school systems are not good. This showed how he wanted to make a difference and give the kids a good education instead of nothing. But later in the book he sees his work as being going to nothing. Because the african american are not getting equal rights, and how the kids were getting pulled out to work.…
The first line of A Lesson Before Dying when Grant states offers one of the most important quotes from A Lesson…
Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940's small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities.…
Back then when Abraham Lincoln protested against racism, he asserted that “Achievement has no color” and just like Lincoln, Grant faced racial discrimination by breaking down the white man’s prejudice. Not like any other colored people in the society, Grant he went off to college and achieved a college education even though he is a black man. Grant Wiggins became a teacher just because that is the only vocation that an educated black man can do in the south. “ I am not [a] great [teacher]. I am not even a teacher” (254). He despises being a teacher and strongly desires to escape its fate as a black man living in Louisiana by taking off to California (192). However, Grant remains in Louisiana because he soon admits that he holds little or…
In chapter 15, Vivian, Grants girlfriend, says she hopes Grant’s family will like her. She comes from a mulatto-community called Free LaCove. Vivian is married to a very dark-skinned man whom she met while attending Xavier University. Vivian kept her marriage a secret from her family because she knew her family will object. When she told her family they all avoided her.…
The novel, A Lesson before Dying, was written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993. Gaines was born on the River Lake plantation in Louisiana, where he was raised by his aunt, Miss Augusteen Jefferson. Racism was prevalent shown by the whites-only libraries in Louisiana. After 15 years of living in Louisiana, Gaines moved to California, although he states Louisiana never left him. California had libraries available for the blacks also. In California, he lived with his mother and which inspired him to the point of writing about six novels and scores of short stories. In 1953, Gaines was drafted into the Army, and he later went on to study creative writing at Stanford University. While in the library, Gaines…
Ernest J. Gaines has authored many novels and short stories, many of which have become classics. He has won many awards, and is an accomplished man well recognized for his writings. His unique Southern upbringing set the stage for his distinctive regionalist writing style, which can be seen in his most famous works, A Lesson Before Dying, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. These novels effectively transport readers back in time, and unncover racism of the past. His books are riddled with symbolism, some of which has been analyzed by Mark Paryz. In his articles, he evaluated the importance of community and Isolation in A Lesson Before…
Grant's many internal and external conflicts greatly played in the development of this major character. The temporal setting of the time, affect his internal conflicts with his self. This makes Grant become bitter of his treatment and often fantasies about escaping from this small town. His community and the people around him growing up brings on a lot of Grants internal conflicts. Such as his former teacher, Matthew Antoine who always gave Grant negative assumptions on a future…
To begin with, in the novel “A Lesson Before Dying” Jefferson went through a lot of tough times during his life, his godmother always cared and loved him but he never realized that until Grant explained him. Jefferson’s Godmother asked Grant to turn Jefferson into a mature man and make him realize that there are many people out there who care and admire him. Grant made the right choice, before it was too late by listening to Jefferson’s Godmother. Due to that, because of Grant, Jefferson started to develop his…
Every day people are treated in ways that strip them of their humanity and dignity, they are made to feel worthless. Though, one must learn their worth before they die. Through the experiences of Jefferson, Reverend Ambrose, and Miss Emma, we can view how important ones worth is to them, especially to be known before one passes away. The novel "A lesson before dying" by Ernest Gaines, exemplifies that the most significant lesson to learn before dying is that you are worth something no matter what society deems you to be, and as long as you show your humanity and dignity, it does not matter what society thinks.…