Analysis Of Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

The novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines depicts the life of a young African American who was just in the wrong time and place. Jefferson's race and culture has an important role to the following series of events being found guilty, losing hope, losing dignity, and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Jefferson undergoes a journey along with Grant in the little time he has to redeem himself from the loss of his dignity and hope from his what his culture has caused him. Moreover, in the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines, Jefferson is deprived of his dignity from the harshful remarks and comparisons that were made against him by his defense attorney. In the first chapter of the book Jefferson is
undergoing trial for the accusation of him killing a man throughout the trial he is bashed verbally expressing to the judge he's incapable to do any simple task and being compared to a hog as shown here,” “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.” Jefferson is compared to a hog due to his race (Segregation era) and his minimal level of education he had acquired in his life. His race causes tension and discrimination because of the culture around him the novel takes place during the era of segregation where colored are deprecated and discriminated.