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Analysis Of Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

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Ernest J. Gaines is a man who stands out as a great author. Basing his books off of his real-life experiences and cultural background, his works are genuinely fascinating to explore. In A Lesson Before Dying, many themes have been established. From topics like racism to injustice to education, this book never fails to lose the reader’s interest. With Gaines’ intelligent methods of gauging at different thoughts of characters through diary excerpts, exploring the use of a narrator with a first-person point of view, and sufficiently telling a story with a chronological order, he establishes himself as an effective storyteller who displays the ability to make his work feasible. Through the use of Jefferson’s diary in chapter 29, Gaines is able …show more content…

Told through the eyes of Grant Wiggins, an educated elementary school teacher who formerly taught Jefferson, we can see his tainted views on his community. "Everything you sent me to school for, you're stripping me of it [...]. The humiliation I had to go through, going into that man's kitchen. The hours I had to wait while they ate and drank and socialized before they would even see me. Now going up to that jail. [. . .] Years ago, Professor Antoine told me that if I had stayed here, they were going to break me down to the nigger I was born to be. But he didn't tell me that my aunt would help them do it." (10.36). In this quote, Jefferson may know that his aunt was the one who forced him to get educated and go to college but now he feels as though his aunt is turning into the whites who, in fact, only oppress him. He feels this as she makes him go through the backdoor in his former plantation rather than the front symbolizing minority and going to jail to teach Jefferson. The narration given by Grant gives us a view of his true thoughts towards his own people. Through his arrogant and grumpy approach to things, he exclaims his desperation to run away and his dreams numerous times through his thoughts and moods. Through this first-person Gaines uses in this novel, we are able to have a better ability to relate to the text through Grant’s eyes more than we would be able to through

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