Ernest Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying, begins as a teacher named Grant Wiggins is recalling a recent trial of a slow-witted man named Jefferson,

who is being convicted of murder. Grant Wiggins is the only formally educated person his community and teaches all the students from kindergarten to sixth grade. The recently condemned Jefferson, who had just been sentenced to death, had at one time been Grant’s student. Jefferson was ultimately innocent of the crime he had been convicted of, yet he had not a prayer of getting released for the jury was completely Caucasian, and racial prejudices were too strong at the time. During Jefferson’s trial, in a desperate attempt to sway the jury, Jefferson’s lawyer argued that his client is nothing but a poor fool, hardly more than a hog, and therefore incapable of plotting such and intelligent plan as the prosecutor had previously explained to the court. This statement soon becomes more demeaning to Jefferson and his family than the final verdict. In his forlorn and down-trodden state, Jefferson takes these words to heart and truly believes he is nothing more than a hog. Yet, his godmother, Miss Emma, only wants her godson to die like a man. Miss Emma, knowing that Grant was her godson’s teacher, pleads for him to talk with Jefferson and make him into a man before he dies. Wiggins’s first reaction is resistance, mostly because he does not want to get involved and he truly believes he can offer no help, However, after considerable pressure from his aunt, Tante Lou, Grant reluctantly agrees to offer aid to his former student on death row.

The condemned teenager, Jefferson, is another character in which Gaines had instilled the main themes upon. Due to the history of Southern society, as soon as Jefferson was arrested there was essentially no hope that the jury would let him off his conviction. The lawyer’s strong words which characterized Jefferson as merely nothing more than a common hog, only helped to further exemplify the bitterness and prejudice which was still extremely prevalent in the society. After this experience it is obvious as to why Jefferson has immense resentment of the past. After the trial Jefferson is so angry that he will not communicate with anyone. It takes much persuasion and even small amounts of bribery for Grant Wiggins to get his former student to open up. Through their meetings and discussions, Jefferson learns to have pride in him and apprehends the responsibility that has been put upon him. The initial responsibility he has is to make his family happy by going to the electric chair as a strong, proud man. His ultimate responsibility is to show his community that even in times of great misery, the downtrodden must stand tall. When Jefferson finally accepts this responsibility, he succeeds in achieving these two goals. The actions of the afore mentioned characters clearly exemplifies how Gaines is able to display emotions of anger and mistrust due to racial prejudices, while identifying how individuals in society must stand up and make a difference.

Throughout Ernest Gaines’s works, he has reflected his past and his current life. Due to this, the major themes in A Lesson Before Dying, as well as his other novels, are clearly mirrored in his o

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