Abstract
The paper explains the causes and effects of racism in the South of the 1940's, as described in the book "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines.

From the Paper
""Cause and Effect, A Lesson Before Dying" describes the tension in the lives of African-Americans during the 1940's in the South. It describes the systematic forms of racism that characterized life in the South. This systematic racism includes providing substandard education to black children and systematically excluding blacks from good paying jobs."

Tags:cause and effect, a lesson before dying, racism, Jim Crow, South

Abstract
The paper examines the focal lesson in this book that is about learning how to live with dignity, and how to die with it as well. The paper further discusses how this lesson is about what dignity means, and what it means to lead a dignified human life. The paper describes the storyline of this book and how it leads to Jefferson eventually earning his dignity even while he is convicted to death. The paper also looks at Grant's search for dignity and identity within his community, and points out that both Grant and Jefferson find the dignity they have been searching for when they learn to open up to others.

From the Paper
"Because of the wide variety of lessons that appear in this novel, it can be difficult--impossible, even--to tell exactly what the lesson is that is referred to in the title. Even the "dying" referenced in the title does not have a clear object in the book; taken completely literally, the title refers to the fact that Grant Wiggins has been asked to teach Jefferson how to die lie a man before he is executed. On a deeper level, however, both the lesson and the death referenced in the title might belong more to Grant himself than to Jefferson, or to any number of the other characters in the novel. The title, rather than referring to any specific lessons Grant teaches Jefferson, seems more to refer to something every character in the novel--and indeed, every reader, too--ought to learn before dying. The lesson is about learning how to live with dignity, and how to die with it as well. But most importantly, the lesson is about what dignity means--that is, what it means to lead a dignified human life. A Lesson Before Dying suggests that this cannot happen in solitude, but instead that others must aid us in achieving dignity."

Tags:dignity, dependence, community, identity, blacks, society, prejudice

Abstract
A look at the questions of racism and human dignity raised in Gaines' novel, "A Lesson Before Dying" and how the imprisoned and oppressed may find freedom even in the moment of their death.

From the Paper
"In a small Cajun community during the 1940's in Louisiana, a young black man is about to go to the electric chair for murder. A white shopkeeper has been murdered during a robbery gone bad; and though the young man on trial had not been armed and had not pulled the trigger, in that time and place, there could be no doubt of the verdict or the penalty. "I was not there, yet I was there. No, I did not go to the trial, I did not hear the verdict, because I knew all the time what it would be" (p.3). So begins Grant Wiggins, the narrator of Ernest J. Gaines' powerful exploration of race, injustice, and resistance, A Lesson Before Dying. "

Tags:Autobiography, Miss, Jane, Pittman

Abstract
The paper examines the acting of Don Cheadle, the costuming used and the cinematic devices in the film "A Lesson Before Dying". The paper shows how this film reflects the social scenario of African Americans where the color of their skin only lets them go so far in society before they are brought back down by racism and prejudice.

Outline:
Introduction
Acting of Don Cheadle as Grant
Costuming
Cinematic Effects
Conclusion

From the Paper
"A Lesson Before Dying is ultimately a demonstration of the fact that as hard as the black man in America works to better himself, he cannot forget or distance himself from other less fortunate members of his race, nor can he expect in a racist society to break the associations of even the most educated black man from racist cultural stereotypes. This is the protagonist Grant's ultimate realization, and comprises the thematic arc of his journey. When he is first approached by Miss Emma to visit Jefferson, he acts as an arrogant and relatively conceited educated man who looks down upon others who are less educated and hard-working than he, not only because they are less educated, but because they reflect negatively on the black person in society by not making something of themselves. In the relationship that Grant unexpectedly discovers with Jefferson, he is given a glimpse into himself; one from which when he walks away he will never be the same."

Tags:African, Americans, racism, prejudice, Grant, Jefferson, Cheadle

Abstract
This paper examines how, throughout the novel, "A Lesson Before Dying", by Ernest Gaines, the issue of self-worth plays a major role. In particualar, the paper looks at how, through the harsher aspects of a racially divided society, Ernest Gaines shows the transformation of one man through his interactions with another, and, despite how outside forces make work against one, persistence and self-sacrifice are key in changing a life.

From the Paper
"The novel is about Jefferson, a black man who is wrongfully sentenced to death for the murder of a white man. Considering the setting of the novel- Southern Louisiana in 1948- Jefferson's attorney says in his opening defense, "Do you see a modicum of intelligence? Do you see anyone here who could plan a murder....a cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, but to plan?....I would as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this" (Gaines 7). While the strategy to compare Jefferson to an animal-- one that is considered a stupid, filthy one-- may seem clever, it immediately leaves Jefferson feeling like nothing of a man. He accepts that society sees him as a "hog" and nothing more. As a person who has seen virtually no possibilities in life, he has had very few choices, and now a freakish combination of circumstances has determined that he must die. Is this what it is to be a man? At one point, he even goes down on all fours and, hog-fashion, pushes his snout into his food dish (Kenney 1). "

Tags:Grant, Wiggins, Jefferson

Abstract
This paper discusses Ernest J. Gaines' book, "A Lesson Before Dying", and its theme that religion is important to society because faith gives people hope and perseverance. The paper summarizes and analyzes the book in order to illustrate how Gaines walks the reader through a process of spiritual evolution that lends hope to the hopeless.

From the Paper
"The antithesis to Grant Wiggins in the novel is the Reverend Ambrose, a man who was never formally educated or ordained. His belief in religion appears to be absolute. He is a local church figure who preaches every Sunday at the small local church that Jefferson and Grant's aunt attends. He recognizes that religion, although intangible, is often the most cherished possession his people have. Like Grant, Reverend Ambrose goes to see Jefferson. He brings the words of the gospel and Jesus Christ into the small cramped jail cell with him, yet he fails to reach Jefferson in any significant way."

Tags:respected, blasphemous, truth, solace, religion, spiritual, evolution

Abstract
The movie, "A Lesson Before Dying," based on the book by Ernest J. Gaines, contains several conflicts among characters existing at various points throughout the movie. Three of the biggest conflicts existing in the movie are over race, religion, and education. This paper discusses how these conflicts spur the storyline on.

From the Paper
"Jefferson and Wiggins conflict over Jefferson's true worth. This is the main conflict in the movie. In teaching Jefferson a lesson before dying, Wiggins tries to persuade Jefferson that he does have inherent worth as a human being (although one wonders if Wiggins truly believes this, at least at the beginning of his visits with Jefferson). Wiggins' visits to and resulting friendship with Jefferson helps Jefferson realize that he is worthy as a human being, even before he dies for a crime he did not commit. Jefferson dies with the dignity of a man and not feeling like an animal, just as Miss Emma had hoped he would. "

Tags:black, louisiana, movie, race, television, white

Abstract
This paper explains the concepts of Nihilism and Theism and how they are shown in "A Lesson Before Dying" through the character, Grant Wiggins.

From the Paper
"Missionary anthropologist Paul Hiebert once wrote, ?Theology is not simply a system of beliefs to be added alongside the others. Theology is the master blueprint on which all other blueprints are mapped.? Set in a segregated Cajun plantation quarter community in the late 1940's, "A Lesson Before Dying" tells the story of a man's struggle to find meaning in life and come to terms with being wrongfully convicted of murder. Grant Wiggins is a black teacher living with Tante Lou, whose friend Miss Emma is the godmother of Jefferson, a man wrongly convicted of robbery and murder. When the defending attorney calls Jefferson a hog during the trial, Miss Emma is determined to have Wiggins teach Jefferson that he is a man, not a hog, before he dies. Through his meetings with Jefferson, Wiggins finds that he too is deprived of liberty. Although university educated, his ways are barred. For example, he can find no better job than teaching in the small plantation church school. "A Lesson Before Dying" illustrates how people insist on declaring the value of their lives in a time and place in which those lives count for nothing. The film shows ways in which the imprisoned may find freedom even in the moment of their death. "A Lesson Before Dying" uses the character Grant Wiggins to address the basic predicament of what it is to be a human being, a creature striving to find their place in the universe, whatever it may be. Through his actions in the movie "A Lesson Before Dying," Grant Wiggins demonstrates the principles of worldviews Nihilist and Theist before ultimately realizing his true place in the world."

Tags:film

Abstract
Ernest J. Gaines' famous novel, "A Lesson Before Dying" accents the tension inherent among African-Americans across the country during the 1940s. This essay draws parallels between the societal oppression felt by African-Americans before and during the civil rights movement and the oppression that is still felt by young Americans today.

From the Paper
"Gaines's novel examines the difficulties facing African Americans in the rural South during the 1940s, but the historical content covers nearly a century. Between 1910 and 1970, more than six million blacks left the South. During this time, the Civil Rights Movement did much to increase civil equality among the races. But, these strides did not come without blood, sweat, and tears. Jefferson's struggle in the novel parallels the paramount effort, determination, and persistence made by many African Americans during the Civil Rights movement. The road was long, but the benefits of staying the course were innumerable. College students can learn a lot from Gaines's novel. Discrimination and oppression still exist in 2005 even though it has taken on new forms and faces. No fight worth fighting is ever easy, and if college students want to change society, they must stand for their rights and use their voices."

Tags:discrimination, oppression, racial, tension, Jefferson

Abstract
This paper explains that, in Ernest J. Gaines' novel "A Lesson before Dying", race is the obvious issue in the story with which the author and the main character Grant Wiggins struggle; however, equally important to the novel is the issue of gender. The author points out that the relationship between Grant Wiggins and the women in his life -- Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Vivian -- can be examined in terms of how men and women understand each other and what the expectations were for black men in the South. The paper concludes that, in the end, Grant learns, through the amazing example of Jefferson's actions, that it is possible to be a man even under the most miserable conditions imaginable.

From the Paper
"Even though Grant's relationship with Tante Lou and Miss Emma is at times hostile, he still respects them as elderly women in his society. In chapter twelve upon returning from visiting Jefferson in jail and having a bad experience, Grant does not want to tell Miss Emma what has happened. He tries to protect her by thinking of a good lie to tell her so her feelings won't be hurt. He is also respectful of his aunt's feelings throughout the novel because he lives in her house and she raised him."

Tags:race, gender, struggle, women, south