A Lesson Before Dying Literary Analysis

The use of bad grammar by black characters in A Lesson Before Dying symbolizes the divide between the whites and blacks in the community. The white people try to maintain this divide and their perceived superiority by reprimanding blacks that use proper grammar, such as when Mr. Guidry tells Grant “Maybe you’re just a little too smart for your own good” (Gaines 49). Grant uses proper grammar in an attempt to break down the divide between the two races in his community, for example Grant says “I used the word ‘doesn’t’ again, but I did it intentionally this time” (Gaines 48). The white men seem to view black people using proper grammar as a symbol of disrespect because proper grammar is also a symbol of intelligence and the white people want