Hannah Pikaart

Dr. Kendra Parker

ENGL-282

13 April 2017

How to Die Like a Man When Sentenced By a White Court: A Lesson Before Dying

For my reading selection I chose A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. While all

the reading selections sounded interesting, this one stood out to me because the presence of the

trial reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird, a text we did not read in African American

Literature, as well as, Going to Meet the Man. Even though the reader does not see the unfair

trial in Going to Meet the Man, a reader can infer the black man who is lynched experiences

the same conditions Jefferson does at his: a white judge, a white jury, and a white lawyer.

A Lesson Before Dying follows the story of Grant Wiggins, a school teacher, and a young

black man, Jefferson. In the very beginning of the story, the reader finds out Jefferson has been

sentenced to death for murder. He had tagged along with two men, Brother and Bear, to Alcee

Grops shop. There Brother and Bear try to steal some liquor, which ends in a shootout with

Alcee. In the end the Alcee, Brother, and Bear are left dead, while Jefferson innocently stands

amongst the blood in shock. During Jeffersons trial, Jeffersons lawyer takes jabs at his clients

intelligence, comparing the black man to not much more than a hog. Miss Emma, Jeffersons

godmother, wants to help Jefferson die as a man, so she enlists Grants help.

While Grant Wiggins envisioning the trial scene is an interesting one, I think what stood

out to me more was Grants attitude when he went to speak with Henri Pichot, Sheriff Sam

Guidry, and Edna. Grant is a very proud educated black mana beacon in Bayonne, especially

as a school teacher. Even though he makes it very clear he does not want to lower himself to go
through the back door he does. Even though he doesnt want to visit Pichot he does. Even though

he doesnt wait he does. And when he finally gets to see the trio during their dinner, his temper

boils over and he lets the trio know that he has been waiting for two and a half hours.

Immediately, Grant realizes that he should have played into the idea of the jolly n-word, but his

pride and anger get the best of him. I was surprised to see Grant act this way towards the three

white people, but I wouldnt have expected less if the conditions were the same and there were

three black people making him wait. I was concerned that even though Grant did not belong to

Pichot, Grant would still receive some sort of punishment, because this is set during Jim Crow,

but he does not receive any sort of punishment. And while we do see anger and social defiance in

this scene, the reader also sees Grants dedication Tante Lou. This says a lot about Grants

character, especially when for the majority of the story, the reader knows hes very lost, not

living his life.

There are many messages in A Lesson Before Dying, but one that bring the story back to

its origin is that innocence when coupled with race is in the eye of the beholder. What I mean by

that is Jefferson was innocent, in his shock he did try to steal some money, but he was an

innocent man. Yet, when he was tried by a court of people who were not his peerswhite men

they didnt see thatall they saw was the color of his skin and a dead white man.

This piece of literature enlivens my understanding of literature by submerging me into a

story that may not be all the unique in African American Literature. However, even though the

storyline might not be unique when considering history, it is s powerful tale that attempts to

transplant the reader into a black community that is hurting at the thought of their fallen

neighbor, Jefferson. Gaines does a great job of bringing in a lot of emotion into this piece that

resonates with the reader. This book has tugged on my heartstrings in ways books have not been
able to do before, and throughout the book I kept the hope Jefferson would be released, but

instead he dies, but much to his benefit, he dies a man.