Education In Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

In the 1940s education in the United States was completely transformed; schools became more professional, organized, and modernized. Despite this change in education, African Americans in the South, still faced racism in the school setting during the 1940s. Education has a huge affect on the way dialect is used in society. In a Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines uses diction and character dialect to emphasize how the characters education separates and unites them.

In this case, Jefferson, an African American man that was wrongly convicted for murder, has a very poor education. Jefferson did not receive a solid education, which reflects in his grammar and spelling. His frequent use of incorrect contractions and mispronounced words are reflected in any sentence he expresses, “‘You can talk like that; you know you go’n walk out here in a hou. I bet you wouldn't be talking like that if you knowed you was go’n stay in here’” (Gaines, 129). Jeffersons grammar displays his low level of education. Education has a huge effect on the way people perceive others.

When speaking about his education Grant discloses, "’I teach because it is the only thing that an educated black man can do in the South today. I don't like it; I hate it’" (Gaines, 191). Grant, as an educated man, who has gone to college, has impeccable grammar. He is a teacher, which really demonstrates his intelligence to the reader. When arguing with Reverend Ambrose Grant states, “‘I couldn’t say yes. I couldn’t lie to him at this moment. I will never tell him another lie, no matter what’” (Gaines, 217). Not only does this quote again portray Grants superb grammar, but it also highlights his intellectual morals, he believes that lying to Jefferson is wrong in his his last few weeks because he deserves respect. Throughout the novel Grant uses diction to emphasize his beliefs and exhibit his vast