Analysis Of Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:7). In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, one of the protagonists Jefferson discovers that the combined transformation of death, understanding, and religion can overpower the thoughts of a common man and no matter how much one struggles, hope will always confide them. Told in first person point of view, the author supports his theme by describing the setting of the struggles that the African Americans face after the era of their ancestral freedom, establishing the central conflict of inequality and prejudice. This affects the work as a whole because Gaines’ purpose is to inform readers about the rift,
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through redemption, love and religion, in which Jefferson is mentally separated from his family and how death is the only solution that enriches his rift. Just as Jesus was exiled, Jefferson collates his fate with his. As he is torn apart from his family, Jefferson is in a stage of agony, where he feels no emotion for what is being done unto him. When Miss Emma asked him how he felt, “he didn’t answer, and kept his eyes on the ceiling” (57). Gaines uses this type of concept to help readers understand equality rights within the crowds. The indirect comparison shows that even though Jefferson did not commit a crime, he is responsible for a white man's death because of his situations. This alienation changes the love between the too. Jefferson is ready for his execution for the reason that he asks “when they go’n do it? Tomorrow?”(59). He feels that he is not to die like a man but rather an animal. Worse, he presupposes that he by no means is greater than a doltish animal and that he is worthy to die, since he notices his life as unprofitable. The men in the jury are credulous in their decisions, making Jefferson incomprehensible the family he once had.
Jefferson is not illiterate but rather uneducated.
Consequently, he associates wrong from right and love from hate. Jefferson has kept his nose to the grindstone all his life and is not the stereotypical apathetic negro. In the efforts of Grant educating him, Jefferson begins to loosen up and “there was no hate in his face—but Lord, there was pain [and Grant] could see that he wanted to say something, but [that it was] hard for him (153). Although Jefferson was fostered without a paternal role model, he was brought up with love by Miss Emma. She “wants to hear [that Jefferson] did not crawl to that white man [and] that he stood at that last moment and walked. Because if he did not, she knows that she will never get another chance to see a black man stand for her" (136). Her ambition is controlled by her surroundings and ethnicity. She never had the impression to rescue Jefferson from the electric chair, rather rescued from the discrimination that limited his own appreciation of himself. On the other hand, it hurts Jefferson to see his godmother in such situation, that he ignores her love. It has been said that the “black men have failed to protect [their] women since the time of slavery (136). In this case it is neither that but treason. About 100 years ago, ancestral freedom was gained and yet in the present times, exile and injustice has taken form. These deep effects that the history of slavery can have on family structures and gender relationships can affect how one may think of another. Towards the end of the novel, Jefferson realizes that this feeling of being alone has changed and awaits the redemption that was long entitled in his
fate.
Jefferson becomes transformed as he acknowledges Grant’s gratefulness for the pecans and asks forgiveness for his atrocious comments regarding Vivian. He inscribes in his journal ‘if I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Stark me like a hog? Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs”(180). This is the turning point where Jefferson is enriched through his estrangement. Grant has indoctrinated him that the ethnological fable specifying that his life is insignificant is astray and that his life intended for a meaning. During the trial men merely concluded that Jefferson was unintelligent and implied the “gentlemen of the jury, [to look at him and if to see if a man was sitting there, to] look at the shape of [his] skull, [his] face as flat as the palm of [a] hand. Do you see a modicum of intelligence?” (9). This description lead to the downfall of Jefferson’s belief for hope, but in the end he embellished the detachment from justice.
In conclusion, Jefferson experiences exile in both a redemptive and loving way. Love is a powerful influence than selfishness, one’s duty and even a large society. Gaines had created a mood of sympathy throughout the novel for any audience to emphasize the treatment of alienation and how it can be comforted through the combined transformation of death, understanding, and religion.
through redemption, love and religion, in which Jefferson is mentally separated from his family and how death is the only solution that enriches his rift. Just as Jesus was exiled, Jefferson collates his fate with his. As he is torn apart from his family, Jefferson is in a stage of agony, where he feels no emotion for what is being done unto him. When Miss Emma asked him how he felt, “he didn’t answer, and kept his eyes on the ceiling” (57). Gaines uses this type of concept to help readers understand equality rights within the crowds. The indirect comparison shows that even though Jefferson did not commit a crime, he is responsible for a white man's death because of his situations. This alienation changes the love between the too. Jefferson is ready for his execution for the reason that he asks “when they go’n do it? Tomorrow?”(59). He feels that he is not to die like a man but rather an animal. Worse, he presupposes that he by no means is greater than a doltish animal and that he is worthy to die, since he notices his life as unprofitable. The men in the jury are credulous in their decisions, making Jefferson incomprehensible the family he once had.
Jefferson is not illiterate but rather uneducated.
Consequently, he associates wrong from right and love from hate. Jefferson has kept his nose to the grindstone all his life and is not the stereotypical apathetic negro. In the efforts of Grant educating him, Jefferson begins to loosen up and “there was no hate in his face—but Lord, there was pain [and Grant] could see that he wanted to say something, but [that it was] hard for him (153). Although Jefferson was fostered without a paternal role model, he was brought up with love by Miss Emma. She “wants to hear [that Jefferson] did not crawl to that white man [and] that he stood at that last moment and walked. Because if he did not, she knows that she will never get another chance to see a black man stand for her" (136). Her ambition is controlled by her surroundings and ethnicity. She never had the impression to rescue Jefferson from the electric chair, rather rescued from the discrimination that limited his own appreciation of himself. On the other hand, it hurts Jefferson to see his godmother in such situation, that he ignores her love. It has been said that the “black men have failed to protect [their] women since the time of slavery (136). In this case it is neither that but treason. About 100 years ago, ancestral freedom was gained and yet in the present times, exile and injustice has taken form. These deep effects that the history of slavery can have on family structures and gender relationships can affect how one may think of another. Towards the end of the novel, Jefferson realizes that this feeling of being alone has changed and awaits the redemption that was long entitled in his
fate.
Jefferson becomes transformed as he acknowledges Grant’s gratefulness for the pecans and asks forgiveness for his atrocious comments regarding Vivian. He inscribes in his journal ‘if I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Stark me like a hog? Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs”(180). This is the turning point where Jefferson is enriched through his estrangement. Grant has indoctrinated him that the ethnological fable specifying that his life is insignificant is astray and that his life intended for a meaning. During the trial men merely concluded that Jefferson was unintelligent and implied the “gentlemen of the jury, [to look at him and if to see if a man was sitting there, to] look at the shape of [his] skull, [his] face as flat as the palm of [a] hand. Do you see a modicum of intelligence?” (9). This description lead to the downfall of Jefferson’s belief for hope, but in the end he embellished the detachment from justice.
In conclusion, Jefferson experiences exile in both a redemptive and loving way. Love is a powerful influence than selfishness, one’s duty and even a large society. Gaines had created a mood of sympathy throughout the novel for any audience to emphasize the treatment of alienation and how it can be comforted through the combined transformation of death, understanding, and religion.