Free Essays - A Lesson Before Dying :: Lesson Before Dying Essays

Ganes, Earnest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York Vintage Books1993.Genre Novel256 pages place setting The story is set in a small Cajun Louisiana town in the 1940s.The setting in this story is significant because, the whole story is virtually how a young black boy is treated below the belt and sentenced to death because of something he did not do. It also deals with the emotions that this black boy faces because he has been treated unfairly by the white people.Major Characters Jefferson, black boy who is accused of a crime and sentenced to death Grant Wiggons, teacher sent to help Jefferson. After he went and obtained a college degree, Grant Wiggins goes back to live with his grandmother. Being that he is a very educated person, Grant was elected by his grandmother to try and flummox Jefferson to realize that he was a man and not an animal like the white people had led him to believe. Throughout the entire novel, Grant is battling this idea in his head because he doesnt feel that even he knows what it is to be a man. He doesnt believe that he is the right person to mouth to Jefferson. But by the end of the novel, he figures out what it is to be a man.Minor Characters Miss Emma is Jeffersons grandmother. She is the one who had the whole idea of Grant exit up to the jail and talking to Jefferson, showing him that he is a man. Tante Lou is Grants aunt. She is the person who raised Grant to be the good, kind person that he is. She is also the one who talked Grant into talking to Jefferson. Vivian is Grants girlfriend she is Grants encouragement. Whatever problems he has, he always talks to her more or less them and she makes him feel better, and helps him through them.Summary This story is about racism in the south and how it affects the people it concerns. It starts out with Jefferson being sentenced to death for a crime that he did not commit. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and because he was black, they assumed he did it. Grant Wiggins is t old to go up to the jail and convince Jefferson that he is a man. At first he doesnt know how to make Jefferson see that he is a man, but through visiting Jefferson, talking to Vivian and witnessing things just about the community, he is able to reach Jefferson, convince him that he was a man.