A Lesson before Dying, one of Ernest J. Gaines later works, was written in 1993. Some of his earlier works include A Gathering of Old Men and In My Fathers House. The novel covers a time period when blacks were still treated unfairly and looked down upon. Jefferson, a main character, has been wrongly accused of a crime and awaits his execution in jail. Grant, the storys main protagonist must find it within himself to help Jefferson see that he is a man, which will allow him to walk bravely to his fate that lies in the execution chair.
A Lesson before Dying captures the tale of a young teacher, who by helping another mistakenly finds his own soul. This paper explains the literary background of Gaines, facts about the novel, literary criticism, film reviews, social issues of the time, and a personal analysis of the movie. The story begins with a trial of Jefferson being accused of murder. During the trial his lawyer calls him a hog that is not even worthy of the death penalty. Ultimately Jefferson is sentenced to death by electrocution.
During the weeks following Miss Emma, who is Jeffersons “nanan”, wishes for Grant Wiggins, a young schoolteacher to speak with Jefferson and make him understand that he is a man. Although Grant refuses he is forced to go by Tante Lou, his aunt and a good friend of Miss Emmas. Upon their first few visits Jefferson is cold towards Grant and Miss Emma, obviously believing he is a hog, as the attorney has stated. He refuses food offered by his “nanan”, saying that “food aint for hogs. ” After Frequent visits, Jefferson begins to open himself up to Grant and speak about his feelings.
Once Jefferson trusts Grant he is able to realize that he is a man and not a worthless hog. Through helping Jefferson become a man, Grant has done his own unconscious soul searching which has helped him find who he is, and has found him a place with God. Ernest J. Gaines was an African American writer who was born on January 15, 1933 in Oscar, Louisiana. Although Gaines schooling was limited to a few classes, he attended at San Francisco State and Stanford University he was able to become a distinguished author of his time.
A few of his most recognized works include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman and In My Fathers House. Gaines grew up on a farm where he helped his family by working in the fields where he was paid only $. 50 a day. When Gaines was able to get out on his own, he moved to California where much of his time was spent in the library to avoid being is trouble. It was here that Gaines discovered his passion for writing. (Discovering Authors 1). His first novel was published in 1964. He began to receive awards, his most famous becoming the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman.
Becoming a highly analyzed novel, many critics speak about their feelings. Carl Senna, one a literary critic, discusses the reasons for lack of communication in A Lesson before Dying. A large part of their communication problem comes directly from their class differences. Although Grant is not considered rich, he is well educated and lives rather comfortably, whereas Jefferson is nearly illiterate and has been a struggling farmhand most of his life. This gap that separates them makes it very difficult for them to speak.
Neither one of them is at fault for this, but it frustrates Jefferson to the point where he often wants to leave the jail cell and not return. Also Grant speaks with Jefferson “reluctantly, prompted by his aunt, a moralizing scold and a nag”(Senna 5). Another good point Senna makes is that because of the time period, blacks were struggling to become equals and were more engrossed with their own wants and needs than worrying about Jefferson. Yes, they all realized that he is innocent but they are not at a time where they can fight for the innocence of this young boy.
Therefore Grant “becomes their instrument in trying to save him[Jefferson] from disgrace”(Senna 5). Jefferson was not seen as much to these folks and therefore his innocence took the back burner in most peoples minds. No one gave much of a second thought about Jefferson when he was sentenced to the death penalty, no one but Miss Emma. Through it all she was the one who believed in him all the while. A second critic, Charles Larson makes a point of stressing the years of difference between Jefferson and Grant. In age there is only a few years difference in the two, but mentally they are years apart.
Although Grant has more, materialistically speaking, than Jefferson, he lacks in the things a man needs most. Grant is “bitter in his own way, aloof from the community he has come to loath”(Larson 5). He goes through the motions of his day because he has to, not because he wants to. He yearns to escape to another place where more can be offered; he is blinded by this illusion of starting over. Grant has yet to see that if he explored himself, he would realize how much more he could gain in his own life. Through helping Jefferson become a man, Grant slowly finds himself.
This quest for manhood becomes the emotional center of the story and a challenge for Grant himself to become reconnected with his people”(Larson 5). Larson stresses that this novel is about staying strong in the worst of times, and although things may get rough, one must never neglect his responsibilities. A large part of the novel can be attributed to the social issues of the time. One of the main social issues found in A Lesson before Dying is clearly prejudice. It takes place in a small town called Bayonne on a plantation in Louisiana in the 1940s, where prejudice was prevalent for the time period.
From the way Gaines was raised he was able to incorporate feelings and emotions of the people he wrote about. Discrimination was not something that was new to the black community; they lived with this daily and became accustomed to it(Balcer 252). Schools, bars, restaurants, and even hotels were segregated. The blacks lived in quarters, which used to be the area of the plantation that slaves were housed in. It is clear that blacks were not anywhere near the standard that whites were considered to be. The conditions in which they lived were far below what they should have been.
They had very little, if any indoor plumbing. The schooling for children consisted of one teacher for grades one through six. Often older children were instructed to teach the younger ones. The level of education was at a minimal and school supplies were very low. They did not even have enough chalk to last them the short school from October to April. “Segregation and prejudice are present throughout the story as facts of lifethey live with segregation because that is how it has always been”(Balcer 252). Clearly a novel so full with emotion should be brought to life on big screen.
It enhances the characters and allows the reader to grasp the true meaning. A film review by Roger A. Rubio includes a brief plot summary of the movie, which seems to follow the book quite clearly. Rubio agrees with the literacy critics that the story is about “great dignity in the face of rampant ignorance”(Rubio 1). It shows a man who overcomes and wins his own personal battles to find himself. We are told that although many of the storys conflicts are quite clear, the answers to them are not so obvious. The movie is told in a way in which we are made to think about the events and ponder them.
What many seem to like about the movie is that even though it is simple and direct, they can learn from it. “Just as in life, there are no simple answers, no cut and dry solutions, no miracle rescue of someone in peril to ensure a happy ending”(Rubio 2). We must learn to realize that not everything is going to be handed to us on a silver platter, and sometimes we must search ourselves to find the answers. (Rubio 2) In watching the film, the theme of the movie, like the book is that through helping others one may not even realize that they have found something with in themselves that they did not know existed.
It is only shown at the end of the movie when Grant realizes his faith and love for god and his people. As with every book that is turned into a movie, The people and places are different to what the minds creates. In the novel, Jefferson seemed to be a bit different than in the movie. Jefferson appeared as being rather large and dumb looking in the book. Whereas in the film it was shocking to see how young he looked. For the most part his personality was as expected. As for Grant, his appearance was mostly the same as in the novel but his personality was much different.
When speaking about the whole situation concerning Jefferson he spoke very sarcastically and acted as if he had no interest; that he was much to educated to visit with Jefferson. He also talked as if he were superior to his Aunt and Miss Emma. The personalities of Miss Emma and Tante Lou did not surprise me in any way and their appearance for the most part, stayed the same. Before watching the movie I pictured the setting as being very old fashioned. I thought it would be very dark and unpleasant, filled with fields and dirt roads. I pictured the homes to be of the same dreary atmosphere and cluttered with old ripped furniture.
I found that when I watched the movie, the atmosphere was rather pleasant. It wasnt dark as I had pictured and inside the houses it was open looking, as if incomplete, and stuck only to the bare essentials. The dress of the characters was typical of the 1940s. The women wore boot length patchwork skirts with gray or dark colored blouses. The men wore basic trousers and usually a long sleeved shirt with flat shoes. The plot seemed to be almost taken directly from the book. The dialogue was the same except for a bit more conversation that was spoken between characters.
The turning point was when Jefferson opened up to Grant and he was able to convince him that he was not a hog, but a man. I also believe it was the most moving scene of the movie. All the emotions that were put into words in the book came to life in the movie. Overall I thought that the movie was a very good interpretation of the novel. It is very rare to find a movie that follows the book so precisely. I think that even if I had not read the book I would have understood the movie well enough to follow along and understand Gaines message.
I thought it was very moving, especially being able to see the characters of the book come to life in the movie. In conclusion, Ernest J. Gaines presents to us, the reader, a story about mans ability to triumph over lifes obstacles when sometimes faced with harsh realities. For Grant, it was helping Jefferson to realize who he was, that gave him the strength to find himself. Sometimes the answers to lifes problems are not always cut and dry. The solutions can not always be seen clearly, but it is important to never give up. It is in the worst times when we must look to ourselves and examine who we are in order to thrive and carry on.
