THE POWERFUL EXPLORATION OF RACE, INJUSTICE AND RESISTANCE IN ERNEST JAMES GAINES’ A LESSON BEFORE DYING (1993)

This articles explores issues that embody truths about life in the late 1940’s Louisiana setting of difficult conflicts. The setting of A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest James Gaines indicates an arduous sense of acceptance for injustice due to racial discrimination and a stressed idea of responsibility over this, all attributable to the unavoidable death of bystanders. The paper casts light on the lawyer’s strong words, depicting Jefferson as merely nothing more than a common hog during his unjust conviction and imprisonment. They further exemplify the bitterness, racial problems, injustice and prevalent prejudices in the American society. Because of the power of categorization, Jefferson has an immense resentment of the past. Gaines delves into this characterization to reflect the attitude held by the white society toward Blacks, and it positions Jefferson as a symbol for his entire people. By discovering late his own value and defying the implications behind these words, he bears witness to an entire oppressed community. It takes much persuasion for Grant Wiggins to get Jefferson to change. It is Grant’s responsibility to teach Jefferson how to change his attitude and gain the courage to stand up and reach salvation. The task that Gaines sets for Grant and Jefferson is to free them from an enslaving myth based on past events. This quest for self-worth is a way to struggle for gaining freedom and break down the chains of racism in a segregationist American society.