Purpose Of Life In Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

318 Words2 Pages
Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American transcendentalist thinker once said “The purpose of life is... to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ernest J. Gaines, author of historical novel A Lesson Before Dying, focuses largely on the idea of the importance an individual can have in someone else's life, and how it can ultimately lead to a life that is truly worth living. Grant Wiggins, the educated, yet stubborn protagonist in A Lesson Before Dying, is forced by his aunt to return to his small town Louisiana community in which he has grown to hate because of the racial inequality and unequal learning opportunities. Grants aunt, Tante Lou, coerces him to work with her friend's