A Lesson Before
Dying
 By
Ernest J.
Gaines
Ernest J. Gaines
~Ernest J. Gaines was born in 1933
on the River Lake plantation in
Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana
-this was the setting for most of
his fiction
-he was the fifth generation in his
family to be born there.
~At the age of nine, Gaines was picking
cotton in the plantation fields
~He attended the black quarter's school
-held classes only five or six months a year.
-his writing is greatly
influenced by these
experiences
Typical Black School/Church
~For several of his childhood years,
Ernest Gaines lived with a great-aunt
in rural Louisiana.
~He would listen to the
talk of the older people
sitting on his aunt's
porch
~Their speech gave authenticity to
the voices of such characters as
Miss Jane Pittman.
~Gaines left Louisiana at 15,
~He returns regularly to remain connected to
the life there that is so central to his writing.
A Lesson Before Dying:
Setting
~St. Raphael Parish Louisiana
~Late October, 1948 until two
weeks after Easter 1949
Characters

Jefferson
 Grant Wiggins
 Miss Emma (Nannan) Glenn
 Oscar Glenn
 Tante Lou
 Brother
 Bear
 Alcee Grope
 Vivian Baptiste
 Reverend Mose Ambrose
 Sheriff Sam Guidry
Characters, cont.

Edna Guidry
 Paul Bonin
 Chief Deputy Clark
 Henry Martin
 Henri Pichot
 Matthew Antoine
 Inez Lane
 Louis Rougon
 Joe Claiborne
Places to Remember
St.
Raphael Parish
Bayonne
Rainbow Club
Pichot Plantation
St. Charles River
Important Events
The
murder of the store clerk
The trial
 Defense Attorney calling Jefferson
a “hog”
Grant telling Jefferson what a hero
is (Pg.191)
Important Events, cont.
Grant
telling Jefferson about a
myth (Pg. 192)
The preacher telling Grant that
he is not educated if does not
know about lying. (Pg.217)
Lessons Grant Learns
~Black men have failed to protect
their women since the time of
slavery.
~Each time a male child is born, they
hope the vicious circle will be
broken.
Background Events that have
affect on Story
~Grant runs away to get an education and
save his own sanity and to have a life of
his own.
~Miss Emma and Tante Lou want a
chance to see a black man stand for her.
(Reread Pages 166-167.)
Themes in the Book:
1. Social Justice
2. Social Transformation
3. Social Reconciliation
Something to think about:
What is a hero?
Ernest J. Gaines,
in his own words:
"We all know--at least intellectually--that
we're going [to die]. The difference is being
told, 'Okay, it's tomorrow at 10 a.m.'
How do you react to that? How do you face it?
That, it seems to me,
is the ultimate test of life.”
The Jim Crow South

A Lesson Before Dying is set in the “Jim Crow
South”

What is the Jim Crow South?
– "Jim Crow" laws barred African Americans from
access to employment and to public places such as
restaurants, hotels, and other facilities. In the South
especially, Blacks lived in fear of racially motivated
violence.
Battling Jim Crow
Cases against Jim Crow were
broken into 3 catagories:
1. segregation,
2. civil rights,
and
3. disfranchisement.
 Segregation
cases: are those related
to separating the races in public and
private places such as schools, trains,
amusement parks, and the workplace.
 Civil
rights cases: address the many
instances where the constitutional
rights of non-whites were abridged or
challenged, such as a citizen's right to a
fair and speedy trial or to participation
in juries.
-Disfranchisement cases: focused on laws
and actions that deprived AfricanAmerican citizens and other non-whites
of their rights to vote, often through poll
taxes, literacy tests, and residency
requirement laws.