A Lesson Before Dying Literary Analysis

The Grove of Ernest J. Gaines ' Writing

The novel, A Lesson before Dying, was written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993. Gaines was born on the River Lake plantation in Louisiana, where he was raised by his aunt, Miss Augusteen Jefferson. Racism was prevalent shown by the whites-only libraries in Louisiana. After 15 years of living in Louisiana, Gaines moved to California, although he states Louisiana never left him. California had libraries available for the blacks also. In California, he lived with his mother and which inspired him to the point of writing about six novels and scores of short stories. In 1953, Gaines was drafted into the Army, and he later went on to study creative writing at Stanford University. While in the library, Gaines
was influenced to write from the books he did not see on the shelf such as books about African Americans and the racism towards them. A Lesson before Dying began to form in Gaines ' mind after the continuous executions of the blacks. After Gaines published A Lesson before Dying, Oprah Winfrey selected the book to be a part of her book club, and was awarded the National Critics Award. Gaines was also awarded the MacArthur Award the same year. In this novel, Ernest J. Gaines portrays attitude, personality, and character through the use of literary devices. First of all, Ernest J.
Gaines exemplifies attitude by using literary devices such as hyperboles and verbal irony. During an interview, Gaines stated that there were not many writers of his own culture and background (Bridges n.p.). Gaines did not enjoy the books, as they did not have the cultural integrity as he would have liked to see. Throughout A Lesson before Dying, Gaines shows the attitude of the characters to portray the cultural variations seen throughout society. Gaines depicts Grant Wiggins as an educated school teacher that does not like his own culture. Grant wants to run away from his current being; however his culture and race will always be the same. Tante Lou forces Grant to help Jefferson become a man and not die as a "hog". Grant resists helping at first, but he later on does what his aunt asks of him. Miss Emma repeatedly tells Grant and Tante Lou that Grant does not have to help her or Jefferson. For example, Grant sarcastically says, "Miss Emma repeated the old refrain I had heard about a hundred times the day before" (Gaines 44). Gaines writes this hyperbole to show the attitude and the difference between Miss Emma and Grant 's education. Grant is not the average African American in the society, and his cultural values are different than what Miss Emma under terms like faith. In another instance, attitude is shown by saying, " 'Quiet, ' the deputy said. 'Yes, sir, ' Miss Emma said. The deputy grinned. 'Jefferson 's been quiet, ' " (Gaines 69-70). In conclusion, Gaines believes oral language is necessary to show the attitude of his
people. Secondly, Ernest Gaines illustrates personality by using personification and dialect. In a New York Times article, Gaines ' extensive background is given. Gaines gives credit to his ancestors to giving him the opportunity to write about their culture. He goes onto say without the existence of his ancestors; he would have nothing to write about (Seelye 5). As a child, Gaines spent most of his time alone. Gaines also listened to stories told by his aunt, Miss Augusteen Jefferson (DiConsiglio 29). Throughout A Lesson before Dying, Gaines illustrates various personalities based around the characters to show the culture and background of his people. Jefferson is shown as a sincere, sensitive young black man that has taken into offense of what his lawyer called him in the courtroom. Grant is portrayed as an intelligent young man that is hypocritical and depressed. Grant is also shown as a man that does not believe in himself or his faith. During a visit to the jail cell, Grant reads Jefferson 's mind stating, "You know what I 'm talking about, don 't you? His eyes said" (Gaines 73). Gaines writes this example of personification to show the personality Grant has to understand Jefferson. During another visit, Grant brought food Miss Emma had made for Jefferson consisting of drumsticks and biscuits. During the awkward moment, Grant states, " 'Your nannan can sure cook, ' I said" (Gaines 83). Grant shows care and concern for Jefferson by encouraging him to eat. Gaines portrays personality through literary devices to show the importance of their culture and background. In addition to attitude and personality, Gaines illustrates character by using similes and imagery. In Gaines ' use of vivid, powerful heroes in his novels, black leaders have still criticized him of not taking stronger stands on social issues (DiConsiglio 29). Throughout A Lesson before Dying, Gaines uses character to show the importance of the actual character to distinguish between the values of his people versus the whites. Gaines portrays Grant as a disturbed young man in the duty of helping Jefferson become a man. Gaines shows how Grant 's good character may be tarnished by his anger. Grant states, "His expression didn 't change-as though someone had chiseled that painful, cynical grin on his face" (Gaines 84). Gaines uses this simile to show the character of Grant after he has just yelled at Jefferson. He has just yelled at Jefferson for not answering back, and his character has just changed towards Jefferson. In another instance, Jefferson is looking up to himself as a hog. He asks if Grant has brought any corn to characterize himself as one. In an earlier visit to Jefferson, Jefferson says, " 'That 's what hogs eat, ' he said" (Gaines 82). Jefferson is looking up to himself as a hog. Jefferson 's character is not what a man would look up to. Gaines shows character to relate to his own people as no one wants to be in that character. Lastly, Gaines created a new set of books and short stories that were not available about the blacks and the executions. Ernest J. Gaines has used numerous literary devices to portray the originality of his own culture and background. The author used attitude in the book to show the oral language of his people and their take on the execution. Equally important, personality in the book shows how people like Grant acted in their own societies. In addition, Gaines used character to show how the victims of the executions acted during the ordeal. In conclusion, Ernest J. Gaines created an atmosphere of new heights of the African American history literature in which we think of the country 's past. Works Cited

Bridges, Lawrence. "A Conversation with Ernest J. Gaines." Youtube. Youtube, 10 July 2009. Web. 4 March 2014.
DiConsiglio, John. "Meet the Author: Ernest Gaines." Literary Calvacade. Nov./Dec. 1998. 29.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson before Dying. New York: Random House, 1993.
Seelye, Katharine. "Writer Tends Land Where Ancestors Were Slaves." The New York Times. 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.