Literary Lens A Lesson Before Dying

Words: 292
Pages: 2

In the book A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, economic disparities between races are highlighted when looked at through an economic/political literary lens. The book takes place in the 1940’s. During this time, segregation was prominent in society. Black people were given less opportunities due to the discrimination they faced in the community. Grant was angered by how black people struggled to survive in their own town, when he “Thought about the men who leave their families and go up North to work in the factories for just enough to send back home” (Gaines 128). From this statement, he depicts how black men had to leave their entire lives and family behind in order to keep them afloat, which is a very hard sacrifice to make. Additionally,