Summary of A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines - Book Report/Review Example

 A Lesson before Dying Theme The primary theme in the story tends to address the fact that the power of human intention is always far more potent and liberating that the pressing circumstances in which an individual is placed (Beavers 128). The theme of the novel aptly conveys the fact that sometimes the mere gesture of trying to resist an expected outcome qualifies to be an act of heroism in itself (Beavers 128). The two most important characters in the story that are Grant and Jefferson are presented as being constrained and limited in their own ways. While Jefferson is incarcerated behind the prison bars, Grant is shown as being limited by his personal self obsession and a deep seated cynicism furnished by the unnervingly ubiquitous racism in the South. Grant is shown as being nudged by a strong urge to escape the stifling and limiting social environment of the South. This aspiration is further bolstered by the realization of being dehumanized to the level of a beast owing to the rampant racial hostility and prejudice. Irrespective of his education and academic achievements, Grant is supposed to act with deference towards people like Dr. Joseph and Sheriff Guidry. In that context, Jefferson is freer that Grant, as being on the death row, he is left with nothing to lose. In the beginning both Grant and Jefferson are shown as being suffering from a fatalistic world view. Both of them believe that they can do nothing to change their world. However, the very act of Jefferson going to the chair like a man proves to be a great changing influence in the life of Grant. Jefferson’s courage makes Grant realize the power of human intention. For the first time in his life Grant stands face to face with the fact that it is he who should be the change he wants to see in the world. It is than that the realization dawns upon him that if he badly wanted, he can choose to defy what the society expects of him (Folks 54). Book Review The theme of the novel A Lesson before Dying is well concentrated in the desire of Miss Emma that is Jefferson’s godmother that those who were to kill her godson should see to it that they are not killing a hog, but a man, whose death will not go waste and useless in the annals of history. In that context, Miss Emma seeks the help and assistance of a black schoolteacher Grant, whom she wants to meet her godson in the prison so as to help him prepare to die like a man. On the one side there is Jefferson, who is expected to learn to die in way so that the perpetrators of his unwarranted death could experience for themselves the fact that he could choose to die in a much better way than they intend to kill him. On the other side there is Grant, who despite his intellect and education is required to live in a world of which he is cynical and hopeless. The theme of the novel celebrates the power of human intention. By the end of the story it becomes evident to the readers that sometimes an act indicative of a mere gesture of pride and dignity is enough to be registered as being heroic and manly (Nelson 168). In that sense the soul searching and agony of the two primary characters that are Jefferson and Grant do not go in vain. Both of them come to this conclusion in their own way that their simple defiance of the way things are is an expression of freedom and free will (Page 192). One chooses to embrace death like a man to register his dissent, while the other chooses to live on and dare to defy what is expected of him. Their very act of dissent, irrespective of the way it is expressed, stands to be an omen portending change. Contrary to the point of view perspective Gains used in his earlier books, in A Lesson before Dying he resorts to the first person narrative (Beavers 129). The narrator of the story is not presented as being simple and dispassionate, but rather as being complex and involved. As a narrator Grant is shown to be self obsessed. The way he prefers to relate to his community, discernibly smacks of a vantage point of superiority (Page 193). Yet, irrespective of his academic superiority and sophistication, Grant do not tends to be very different from everyone else in the sense that like them he aspires for something better and humane. So, it is with a great deal of reluctance that Grant defers to the request of Aunt Lou to serve as a secular priest so as to help a former student, Jefferson, to face death like a man and not as a senseless hog as declared by the white lawyer. While serving in that position, quiet soon Grant comes to the realization that in order to help a dying man get over his emotional turmoil and fears, he must first himself get over his own resentment for his people, for being subservient and passive before prejudice and injustice (Page 194). Besides, Grant is required to dilute his hatred for the whites, who act in a prejudicial and unjust way because of being inheritors of a legacy of hatred and vengeance that accords no questions or resistance (Page 194). The redemption of Grant is not the one that is receptive and accommodating of prejudice, but rather a determination and poise that is willing to work for justice and change. This redemption is ironical in the sense that the death of Jefferson ends up teaching Grant to lead a more wholesome and meaningful life. He is not only willing to be conspicuously resentful, but moves forward to strike an alliance with the more open minded whites like Paul Bonin, who is one of the jailors of the prison where Jefferson was kept. While Jefferson dies like a man, Grant decides to live like a man. One simply cannot underestimate the role of female characters in this search for respect and justice (Fisher 170). The resilience of the white and black women comes out strikingly in this story revolving around the helplessness of black men and the foolish and uninformed prejudicial attitude of white men (Fisher 171). It is the women characters in the story who do always succeed in creating a semblance of a happy family life and do manage to unify the community though many a times imperfectly, in the face of hatred and prejudice (Fisher 172). It is the very hope of these female characters in the future redemption that the community remains unified and looks forward to a better life in the future. It is the instinctive faith of these women in the power of human intention, that the Jefferson is to realize in his death, and Grant is to arrive at during his struggle with personal cynicism. A Lesson before Death is actually a saga celebrating the quest for self awareness, which allows the primary characters that are Jefferson and Grant to achieve redemption in this very life. The fact that leaps out from the overall narrative is the power of human intention and its ability to challenge injustice and prejudice with calm and poise. Works Cited Beavers, Herman. Wrestling Angels into Song: The Fiction of Ernest J Gaines and James Alan McPherson. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Print. Fisher, Jerilyn & Silber, Ellen S. Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of Gender. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print. Folks, Jeffrey J. “Communal Responsibility in Ernest J Gaines A Lesson before Dying”. The Mississippi Quarterly. 52.2 (1999). Nelson, Emmanuel S. Contemporary African American Novelists. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print. Page, Philip. Reclaiming Community in Contemporary African American Fiction. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1999. Print. Read More