Talk:A Lesson Before Dying
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This discussion page is being set up as a place to discuss topics in the book. Some topics are obvious and some are not so obvious. I invite everyone who has read the book to add their interpretations to anything written here.
Contents |
[edit] Major Themes
[edit] Racism
It is Gaines' intention in the writing of this book to imply that racism is not gone today, just not in the spotlight anymore.
[edit] Religion
The purpose of religion in this book is to bring community to a very segregated people.
[edit] The Measure of a Man
In the book, Gaines has to teach Jefferson how to be a man, and in turn learns, himself, what it takes to be a man.
[edit] Minor Themes
[edit] Alienation
In reading Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying, I noticed a theme of alienation in the main character and narrator, Grant Wiggins. Grant’s actions alienate him from his family, his friends and everyone else around him. Sometimes, he does it to himself, other times it’s forced upon him by others. Grant suffers this separation from people due to his advanced education, lack of religion and desire to flee from the plantation. Most of the problems Grant has stem from his sense of not belonging.
In the 1940’s most black men were not educated beyond a few years in public school. Thus, any remarks that would indicate further education were looked down upon by those who thought themselves superior. Phillip Auger, in his article entitled, “A Lesson in Manhood: Appropriating ‘The Word’ in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying,” writes, “Grant makes it clear that even he, a black man who has been college educated, cannot express himself in the way he wishes in his community,” (76). Grant often encounters discrimination where he cannot express himself. In one such encounter, Grant corrects the sheriff by using “doesn’t” instead of “don’t.” (Gaines 48). In another instance, Gaines writes, “’Leave it,’ the sheriff said. ‘I’ll see that he gets it. Batries, I hope.’ ‘Yes, sir, batries,’ I said. I had almost said ‘batteries,’” (177). Grant has to speak as though he is stupid when around less educated white people simply because he has a different skin color. A lot of other people see this kind of racism and discrimination as the way things always have been and always will be. Grant rebels against his “place” in society and is shunned by white people because of his illusions of grandeur. As well, the society of the white people enjoys its position of superiority and the society of the black people is too afraid of retribution to try and change anything drastic. Grant’s education not only alienates himself from the white people, but also from those in the quarter.
Grant’s discussions with the people in the quarter are a lot like those he has with Reverend Ambrose. Reverend Ambrose resents Grant because Grant feels superior to the rest of the quarter because of his education (Gaines 214-216). Many of the people in the quarter distance themselves from Grant for this same reason. In getting his education, Grant gained a lot of knowledge, but at the same time, he lost his religion.
Religion causes much strife with Grant. Tante Lou, Grant’s aunt, feels disappointed because he lost his religion when he went off to school. Grant deals with the oppression of the times with superior knowledge whereas, “the way in which Grant’s Aunt, Jefferson’s Godmother, and Reverend Ambrose learn to deal with such oppression is through their faith and institution of religion,” (Auger 77). Grant wants nothing to do with organized religion, although he does believe in a God-like force (Gaines 223). Reverend Mose Ambrose believes, “they send you to school to relieve pain, to relieve hurt—and if you have to lie to do it, then you lie. You lie and you lie and you lie” (Gaines 218). Reverend Ambrose, in this statement, is telling Grant to lie to Jefferson so he will pray to God for forgiveness of his sins, thus going to heaven. Grant refuses to lie to Jefferson, thereby alienating himself from the reverend. Most people of the day were religious and by putting himself on the opposite side of the fence from Reverend Ambrose, he distances himself from a lot of the community in the quarter. Grant can find peace with neither the white people, nor the black people in his community. He has only one person who he truly cares about, and that is Vivian. She, unfortunately, causes him to be alienated when they don’t see eye-to-eye on matters.
Grant firmly believes that leaving the plantation area will solve his problems. Grant tells Vivian, “I don’t feel alive here. I’m not living here. I know we can do better someplace else,” (Gaines 29). This belief pushes him away from most of the community as he is the teacher, and a vital part of the community because of it. The only reason Grant has not left the area is his lover, Vivian. Vivian asks him why he hasn’t left and his only response is, “because of you,” (Gaines 29). More than anything else, he wants to leave Louisiana with Vivian and go to California or someplace and live, what he perceives would be, a better life. Vivian, however, is happy where she is. She doesn’t want to move. She feels a responsibility to her teaching job, to her students and to her children. When Grant asks her if she wants to leave she says, “we can’t. We’re teachers and we have a commitment,” (Gaines 29). Mary Ann Doyle, in her article “Educational Studies,” points out if Vivian ran away with Grant, her estranged husband would have backing on his side of the custody battle for their two children (457). For these reasons, Vivian feels she cannot easily leave the area of Bayonne and in turn Grant is torn by his desire to run and live someplace better and his desire to be with Vivian, raising a barrier between himself and Vivian.
Conflict is ripe with Grant: with both the white and black communities because he is more educated than a lot of them, with his local community and family because of his refusal to go to church and with Vivian and himself because of his desire to flee versus his desire to be with Vivian. All of these conflicts cause Grant to be alienated from everyone around him. This alienation is the root of Grant’s problems. He wants to stand up and be a man, something the whites don’t want to allow. He doesn’t go to church and denies the god the people of the quarter believe in, so he has little or no connection with his family and neighbors in the quarter. Finally, he wants to pick up and move, to leave his troubles behind him. All of this holds him back from doing anything truly great where he lives until Tante Lou forces him to make something of Jefferson. In this way, Grant actually achieves something.
Barrett writes in his article entitled, “When Teacher Becomes Student”, “Grant himself suffers a temporal dislocation that leaves him unable to live and teach in and for the present that white Louisiana crafts for black men, women, and children” (2). Grant wants things to change but feels powerless where he is to change things. He is a man of the future—a future where black is not considered to be inferior to anyone else. He could only be comfortable in such an atmosphere. Jefferson is his only source of redemption. If he can convince Jefferson to act like the man he is, his teaching will have come to some avail. This would be the beginning of Grant’s redemption from alienation. It would be a long series of events that would bring Grant back from being alienated, but the first stone would be showing the members of all communities that black people are just that. They are people. Then the blacks would think of themselves as equals to the whites and history has shown that to have happened, but it wouldn’t have happened without actions of people like Grant Wiggins.
--Dataspot
Sources
Auger, Philip. “A Lesson About Manhood: Appropriating “The Word” in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying.” Southern Literary Journal. 27.2 (Spring 95): 74-85.
Barrett, Peter A. “When Teacher Becomes Student”. Independent School, 57.2 (Winter 98): 98-101.
Doyle, Mary Ann. “The Social Foundations Classroom”. Educational Studies, 32.4 (December 2001): 453-470.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage Books, 1993
