Ernest Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

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Ernest Gaines was the son of plantation workers. Born in Louisiana on January 15, 1933. Gaines found an escape by writing letters to his aunt and other elderly people. As a teenager, Ernest moved to California with his mother and stepfather, where he found himself missing his old lifestyle, so he emerged into the library reading any book that was set in his home state. As Gaines read, he realized that most of the authors had no real experience and were writing about southern black people and what they went through. He was determined to write from the perspective that was missing (Stanley 156). Gaines has written many books such as A Gathering of Old Men, A Long Day in November, and Of Love and Lust. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines is a powerful …show more content…
As the story continues, the reader sees Grant turn into someone passionate and wanting to change. The way in which Gaines writes Miss Emma, the mother of Jefferson, allows that audience to feel the emotion within her the struggle of her son being in jail and sentenced to death and there being absolutely nothing that she can do to stop it. By creating pathos, Gaines portrays all the characters' emotions in a very complex manner. Stanley is right, Grant Wiggins can be a frustrating character because of his lack of decisiveness and drive at the beginning of the story. It is through this that the audience is allowed to see the struggle of these people in the black community. Through the story, they turn into advocates by defying what is expected of them. Not by making Grant a hero, but by showing the struggle of being a part of something bigger than oneself and how much of an impact that can have in people's lives. A Lesson Before Dying is a book that is very well known because for the time period it was written in because of the never seen before in depth perspective of black people in the
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