The Theme of Justice in a Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines

In a society that is racist towards black men, many black men show weakness to white men, who are considered powerful in the 1900’s. The book written by Ernest Gaines, A Lesson before Dying, is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940’s, where Jefferson, the main character, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In addition, in the small community, 3 men were killed in a liquor store shootout. Later in the book, a plantation school teacher, Grant Wiggins, had left town to go to school and has conflictions of leaving again or staying where he is currently at. With his decision, his aunt and Jefferson’s godmother push him to visit Jefferson and teach Jefferson his works before he dies. Towards the end of the book, they become good friends where they see common ground on the topics of resisting and eluding. Because of racism, the reader is able to acknowledge that the author, Ernest Gaines, develops the theme of justice using the literary device of imagery.

The author, Ernest Gaines, creates the theme of justice, using imagery in the scenes of Jefferson getting a visit from Grant Wiggins, which was rough at first. Jefferson, the main character, had an attitude and didn’t want anybody near him. As Grant and Jefferson begin to talk and have a conversation, they both begin to relax. Jefferson is beginning to see that Grant only wants to help Jefferson and be able to give him some guidance before he dies in the end. The author, when describing their conversation, says, “I’ll be here when you come back”. This interprets that the conversation was able to make Jefferson open up to other people which was beneficial for him. Along with this, Jefferson making this statement shows another side of his personality overall. Because of this, the reader is able to notice the changes in his character. We are able to see other instances of his personality in other parts of the book.

In the book, “A Lesson Before Dying”, By Ernest Gaines, he explains the conversations and tries to connect it with Jeffferson’s current situation. To put more succinctly, Jefferson has had a rough life while in prison. In the final chapter of the book, Jefferson has his final conversation with Wiggins. Jefferson finally learns the true meaning of caring and having a heart. He also sees why his family cares so much. Jefferson even quotes himself saying, “I see that God helped me see the works towards caring about others”. We as readers are able to see that caring for others can help you in the long run. In Jefferson’s case, he finally uses what he was taught from Grant Wiggins. We as readers can clearly see images of this conversation and be able to notice Jefferson’s change from the beginning of the book and towards the end, when he is about to be in his final hours and die in prison. As a result, he can use these tools for beneficial reasons and do good things before his death.

In the beginning of the book, the author explains Jefferson’s situation. He explains how he got into prison and how his life is in prison. We as readers can see what is going on and how he really feels as a character. To be more specific, we learn about what happened the night of liquor store shooting. We learn that the 3 casualties had all been drinking the whole night. At the end of the night, we learn that Jefferson had also been drinking a little and later couldn’t remember what exactly happened throughout the night. The police are trying to put the pieces together and begin to see that “a fool drove to the grocery store and starting shooting”. The reader begins to see that there is a lot going on. They have a long way to go. They go with someone who didn’t even know what happened, yet along remember it. He couldn’t be a suspect which shows his innocence. Furthermore, Jefferson was convicted innocently. They may have convicted him because he’s black and with racism and hierarchy. With this, Jefferson has no place in society except for at the bottom.

In conclusion, the book written by Ernest Gaines, A Lesson before Dying, is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940’s, where Jefferson, the main character, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In addition, in the small community, 3 men were killed in a liquor store shootout. With this shootout and the victims being white, they pin point murder towards black men because of the stereotypical status blacks hold in the small Cajun community. The community may have some blacks, but whites hold that higher standard and still look down on blacks. They are unable to take anything back because it will hold more weight and be beneficial towards the white men. In societies like this, which is similar to the book, A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines, where a cajun/white man was killed. Many white people point towards black men which shows how powerful they are. In this case, where justice is portrayed, Jefferson was able to get justice from the help of his friends and his family members. They taught him to care and not look down on himself and others, which will help him and it did before his death.