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Character Analysis: A Lesson Before Dying

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A Lesson Before Dying
1. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines, 1993, 256 pages
2. A Lesson Before Dying is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940s. The story started in a courtroom where a black man named Jefferson was being prosecuted for assisting in a robbery in which a white man was killed. Jefferson was judged by white men and was referred to as a hog throughout the court session. He insisted the he was innocent; he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but a verdict was reached and Jefferson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electrocution. Grant Wiggins, who left his hometown for the university, has returned to a plantation school for black children to teach. As he struggles to decide whether he should …show more content…

I think that Mr. Wiggins is the protagonist of this story. My first impression of him was that he wasn't very caring. When his aunt first proposed the idea of talking to Jefferson he was reluctant and said that it wasn't a part of his job. "What can I do? It's only a matter of weeks, a couple of months, maybe. What can i do that you haven't done the past twenty-one years?"(Gaines pg.13)I believe the antagonist would be Jefferson. His mindset that's keeping him from acting like a man subdues his emotions and throws himself into despair. My first impression of him was that he was an innocent man, but he's being punished anyway and that makes him depressed. “Nothing don't matter"(Gaines …show more content…

What I like about it is the dialogue and how descriptive the author is with his words. The thinking is complex and really pulled me into the story. For example when Mr. Wiggins explained what a hero was and talked about God to Jefferson. What I dislike about this book is the lack of impact. Personally, I like a story that can keep me on my toes and make twists and turns that surprise me. This book however walked a straight path with the only obstacles being racism and the despair that Jefferson felt. What kept me reading was the joy of watching a, predictable yet pleasant, story

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Grant Wiggins and Jefferson are protagonists. Their individual survivals depend on their mutual support. It’s Jefferson's story, but it is narrated by Grant. Miss Emma and her friend, Tante Lou, are inseparable. Sometimes they seem too close that it is hard to tell which one is speaking.

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Marcos Nogueira Wrt 110 Dr.Ted Wojtasik November 25, 2015 A Lesson Before Dying Summary “A lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines’s fifth adult novel, is the Louisiana write’s most compelling work to date. Gaines worked on this book for almost ten years, doing most of the writing in San Francisco during the summer months between stints as professor on the English Facult at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and engagementelsewhere.” Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. NY: Knopf, 1993.

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“What justice would there be take this life? Justice, gentleman? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electrical chair as it fits?” Jefferson’s attorney said.(8). A Lesson Before Dying is a novel by Ernest J. Gaines.

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In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines, Grant is a main character that has a lot of influence over the people in his community. Some might even consider him a hero. I believe that Grant is a hero because he helps Jefferson become a man, changes himself for the better, and wants to continue changing the community. Over the course of the novel, Grant helps Jefferson become the man that he needs to be in order to walk to his death with honor. When Grant first begrudgingly went to visit Jefferson in prison Jefferson was in a really low state.

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In Ernest Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying, the author uses a third person point of view to assess the issue of racial injustice in the South during the 1940’s. Grant understands that justice is evaluated unfairly and knows that it does not favor the poor and uneducated black man. Due to Grant’s ability to be able to understand others, he successfully learns how to bring justice, while assisting Jefferson. This presents the audience the significance of the novel as a whole, embracing responsibility and facing injustice. Grant feels as if he shouldn’t feel obligated or pressured to help bring justice to Jefferson.

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Rotting in a cell. Counting down the days. Trying to learn how to be a man before the big day. In the book “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines: Grant Wiggins a school teacher tries to help a falsely convicted black man named Jefferson. During this time Grant release what can do to not only change Jefferson but change himself as well and he achieves redemption.

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A Lesson Before Dying: An Analysis of the Definition of Manhood A Lesson Before Dying is a historical novel written by Ernest J. Gaines. The novel is set in the late 1940s on a plantation in Louisiana. A young, black man known as Jefferson is wrongly convicted for murdering two white men. The main character is Grant Wiggins, a teacher at a church school. Grant is being forced by Jefferson’s Godmother, Miss Emma, to convince Jefferson that he is a man.

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Our children cannot afford to have the truth of the world withheld from them.” Many Americans agree with this statement by Laurie Halse Anderson about censorship. Banning a book is never the right choice when it contains a strong message that is not found in other “safe” books. A Lesson Before Dying include a message about a male, African American living in a white mans society. Although the novel contains different religious views and explicit language, A Lesson Before Dying should not be banned because it shows the

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This is shown throughout the novel by showing that in the beginning of the novel, Grant wants nothing to do with Jefferson and his situation. As the book continues, he realizes that Jefferson is a human too and that he needs to realize how good he has it compared to some people. In the beginning of A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins struggles with accepting his responsibilities. This is shown in multiple examples. The two examples used in this paper were when Grant avoids all of his responsibilities and does not want anything to do with Jefferson.

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Jefferson didn 't do anything, but he was going to steal money from the cash register. Jefferson was there but at the wrong time. The police thought that it was Jefferson because he was black. Jefferson should of stand up for himself or told the judge that it wasn 't him. This book is told in the 1940’s so it makes sense that Jefferson didn 't have a say in what happened.

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Considering A Lesson Before Dying the author’s handling of each character’s power or subservience, which therefore creates power imbalances, within a critical triad of the novel influences the author’s purpose with regards to theme. A critical triad from the novel includes Grant Wiggins, Tante Lou, and Miss Emma. These characters each have specific powers in the triad which work together towards the overall theme of the novel. These three characters often were seen working towards the common goal to make Jefferson into a man, overcome colored stereotypes,and go against what the white man wants. Grant Wiggins is the teacher in the novel as well as a very powerful character.

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Marianne Williamson once said, “Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.” In A Lesson Before Dying, a novel by Ernest Gaines, a young black man named Jefferson is sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. As his attorney attempts to defend him, he dehumanizes Jefferson by repeatedly referring to him as a hog.

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A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells a story about a school teacher in the south during the 1950’s and a man who has been wrongly convicted of murder. The main conflict in A Lesson Before Dying is between the school teacher Grant Wiggins and Jefferson, a convicted murder. The main conflict in this story has been resolved because Grant has succeeded in having Jefferson regain his pride and feel like a man, and not a hog going to the execution chair. This resolution relates to the emerging theme of how an internal sense of pride is important in life, by showing how Jefferson’s mental journey of being wrongly accused and convicted is healed by relearning his sense of worth. When Jefferson is writing in his journal to Grant he says,

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Though Jefferson, a man wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, has to stay strong, two men stand out as strong or even stronger, Grant Wiggins and Reverend Ambrose. The two men are some of the best leaders in the community but they have different strengths, and Grant is better able to help Jefferson meet his unfortunate death. Throughout A Lesson Before Dying Reverend Ambrose and Grant Wiggins are some of the best leaders in the Quarter.

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The historical fiction novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, features a falsely accused black man on death row in a small Cajun community during the late 1440s. Grant Wiggins, a college educated teacher of the black community, visits Jefferson in prison, an African American convicted of murder. During his trial, he was given a death sentence while referred as a hog. With the love of his godmother, Miss Emma, who sends Grant to teach him in proving himself a man, Jefferson receives the opportunity of representing his community as he dies. Tante Lou, a close friend of Miss Emma and Grant’s aunt, provides the assurance that Grant would prove Jefferson worthy a human.

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