One of the many human abilities is being able to grow and change with the different situations that may arise. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, a story set in the 1940s in a racist town of Bayonne, Louisiana; author, Ernest J. Gains illustrates this human ability through his characters' words and actions. Three ... who initially gives up on his life as a human being, but then learns that he does matter, and is, in fact an important person. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines uses Jefferson's tragic court sentence and incarceration, to bring about a positive change in many of his ch...

• Word Count: 1339
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the responsibility of telling his story. Throughout all of his literary works, Gaines has created stories which reflect the ideas of marginalization and the past. In his latest novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines continues to assess these ideas. The themes of this novel, the inescapable past and facing responsibility, are directly address the issue of racial marginalization and are clearly represented ... through the story's characters, events, criticisms, and the author's own life. Ernest Gaines's novel, A Lesson Before Dying, begins as a teacher named Grant Wiggins is recalling a rece...

• Word Count: 2093
• Approx Pages: 8