Jacob
Cabral
Professor
Broadous
PAS113B
26
April 2012
To Die a Man: A Literary Analysis
When the word "hog" comes
across a conversation what do you think of? By definition, a hog is a
domesticated swine weighing 120 pounds or more and is raised for market.
However, the term is also identified as a selfish, gluttonous, or filthy
person. In A Lesson Before Dying, a
novel authored by Ernest J. Gaines, the primary character known as Jefferson is
acknowledged as a hog by his peers. The reason behind this degrading
identification is owed by Jefferson being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the novel, Jefferson is accused of robbing and murdering bystanders in a gas
station. It was a crime Jefferson did not commit. Throughout the story we see
Jefferson belittled and diminished by others inside and outside of the court
room. He is practically bullied to the point where he begins to believe he
really is a hog. In respect to his disheartened well being and mindset, he begins to act like and
metaphorically become a hog. For the duration of the book, Jefferson is on a
journey accompanied by Grant, a school teacher, who is attempting to shape
Jefferson into the man he really is and liberate him of the comparison of an
unintelligent hog which he bears. A major aspect of this novel is the theme of
racism. Throughout this book, racism is seen behind every word, paragraph, and
chapter. Due to its setting, the book is filled with the degradation of African
Americans. Racism impacts the intriguing story of Jefferson, while
demonstrating to the reader a saddening yet truthful view on African American
lives in the 1940s. Racism empowers this novel by branching into the words on
each page, the characters, and the plot.
Words can transform the feeling of a
conversation, a sentence, and even a chapter of a book. In this case, this
reference is made towards the words used by Ernest J. Gaines. The way Gaines
incorporates his vocabulary and his placement of words adds to the consistent
sense that there is racism amid the chapters of this novel. For example, the
school teacher who taught Grant before he became a teacher, known as Matthew
Antoine, is written saying to Grant, “‘I
can’t tell you anything about life. You want to know about life? Well, it’s too
late. Forget it. Just go on and be the nigger you were born to be, but forget
about life.’” (Gaines 65). This is Antoine's response to Grant's
inquiries about being a man in the south. Antoine reflects to Grant that the
only way to live a life without the setbacks brought on by the racist white
environment is to run away and make a new life for one's self. However, Grant
does not leave; he stays in the city of Bayonne, Louisiana. To add, the way
Gaines uses the word "nigger" is so abrupt and tongue-in-cheek that
it surprises the audience while still captivating their attention. Gaines has a
way with incorporating this theme into his book very skillfully. Moreover, when
the lawyer of Jefferson is somewhat defending him, he talks of Jefferson as if
he were an animal stating, "'...do you see a man sitting here? ... A
cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited from his
ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa... What you see here is a
thing that acts on command... What justice would it be to take this life?
...Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.'"
(Gaines 7-8). Within this quote, Gaines expands on racism by having the lawyer associate
Jefferson with the inhabitants of the "deepest jungle of blackest
Africa". By doing this, an illustration of disrespect and insolence is
presented. Also, it recalls the persistent perceptions of African Americans as
no more than savages or beasts. Gaines develops this story to the point it is
apparent that one of his many themes is racism.
Illustrating character development
in a story is an ideal component. It shapes the characters to who they are,
while adding a connection where the reader can relate to a sole character.
Gaines goes about the progression of each of his characters distinctively. He
gives them a background and a way of life. Racism is associated in the lives of
these characters by the use of treatment from other characters. In proof,
Jefferson is quoted saying, "'It
look like the lord just work for wite folks cause ever sens I wasn nothin but a
litle boy I been on my own haulin water to the fiel on that ol water cart wit
all them dime bukets.'" (Gaines 227). Here, Gaines accentuates how
Jefferson is unsure about religion due to the disrespect and treatment he's
gotten throughout his twenty-one years of living. On the other hand,
even though racism is what makes these characters who they are, it also changes
and molds them to a different person towards the end of a book. For instance,
when first meeting Jefferson, Grant wasn't interested in sculpting him to
become a man or having anything to do with him. Conversely, his idea of
Jefferson changed by the end of the story. He began to care for Jefferson and
wanted to prove to their peers that he is a man. Giving his full respect to
Jefferson, Grant is quoted saying, “'A
hero does for others. He would do anything for people he loves, because he
knows it would make their lives better. I am not that kind of person, but I
want you to be. You could give something to her, to me, to those children in
the quarter. You could give something I never could ... The white people out
there are saying you don’t have it—that you’re a hog, not a man. But I know
they are wrong.” (Gaines 191). Gaines proves that although Jefferson is seen as
a worthless and unintelligent animal, he is better than the racist community
who sentenced him to his end. In Grant's eyes, he is seen as a hero. While
guiding Jefferson to realize this, Grant learned more about himself and
acquired a new view on life. To add, Mary Ellen Doyle, author of Voices from
the Quarters states, "The chief evidence of change throughout, in this
novel as in A Gathering of Old Men, is the sound of voices, the shift in
voices of power, and the sheer increase of willingness and ability to speak, to
communicate genuinely with other human beings." (Doyle 208-209).
The
plot of A Lesson Before Dying is intriguing in that it bears the
question, "Would you want to die with dignity or die as an entitled
hog?" From the start, Jefferson was belittled by his peers. Jefferson was
content with being sentenced to death because he knew there was nothing he
could do to change it. His lawyer had no respect for him and basically
convinced the jury to commit him as guilty. The lawyer's prejudice and racist
attitude towards Jefferson's case is what catapults racism in the story. An
author known as Valerie Babb has talked about the treatment of Jefferson by his
lawyer stating, "...his defense lawyer pleads his client's innocence not
on the basis of facts, which might prove that racist presumptions rather than
evidence lead to Jefferson's conviction, but rather by likening his
intellectual capabilities to those of a hog." (Babb 252). As it can be
related to the famous novel, Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck,
Jefferson and the character of Lennie are similar in the way of their
intelligence. Although Lennie was white and Jefferson was African American, they
were both treated poorly due to their lack of intelligence. Lennie would be
heckled for being mentally handicapped, while Jefferson would be tormented by
the wrongful punishment which was put on him by his peers. "'S'pose
you had to sit here an' read books...Books ain't no good'" (Steinbeck 4),
was quotes in the Steinbeck novel. This signifies that just because someone may
be portrayed as unintelligent or meaningless does not mean that person cannot
push himself to be better than what is expected of him. Lennie would be told
that books are not good for him because he did not have a good intellect;
whereas, Jefferson would be called a hog for being dumb and for the way he
presented himself. Even though Lennie was not judged by the color of his skin,
prejudiced views from others are what tore him up unside. For Jefferson, racism
is what made him believe and become a hog. Gaines' point of view on the theme
of racism elaborates within the plot uniquely. He exercises his method of
speech from page to page.
“Do you know what a
myth is, Jefferson? A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people
believe that they’re better than anyone else on earth - and that’s a myth. The
last thing they ever want is to see a black man stand, and think, and show that
common humanity that is in us all. It would destroy their myth. They would no
longer have justification for having made us slaves and keeping us in the
condition we are in. As long as none of us stand they’re safe. They’re safe
with me. They’re safe with Reverend Ambrose. I don’t want them to feel safe
with you anymore.” (Gaines
192)
Grant declared this statement to
Jefferson after realizing that the white men aren't stronger or better than
them. Grant had an epiphany that no man is greater or exceptional than one
another and that if they prove to themselves that they stand with dignity then
they have overcome their tormenters. This quote embodies the whole story of A Lesson Before Dying. It emulates their
journey of the discovery of the selves they did not know they had. Racism
impacted the lives of all the characters throughout this story. Racism is what
got Jefferson to be accused of murder and robbery. It is what committed him of
a crime he did not commit. It is what gave him the undeserving name of a hog.
It is what sentenced him to death as a man with dignity. Gaines' way of
teaching us about the struggles and hardships of the primary characters of
Jefferson and Grant help us relate to them. Within this consummation, we know
that a major theme of this story is racism. Nonetheless, a lesson to be learned
here is that people may misjudge you and purposely try to bring you down, but
it is your character that shines through and must show a sense of pride and
dignity. Without pride and dignity a man has nothing to show forth. Paul was a
witness the day that Jefferson's life ended. He told Grant, "he was the
strongest man in that crowded room, Grant Wiggins" (Gaines 253). A honorable lesson here in this novel is to
have faith and let God lead you down the right path. No matter your race or
belief God will be accepting of you at all times. This modern day classic novel
got to where it is today because of the values and lessons it teaches. Not only
is it teaching you to keep faith, but it is also justifying how one man's road
to dignity can affect the lives of many different people around him. Earnest J.
Gaines' novel, A Lesson Before Dying,
centers around the strife towards the qualities of dying with dignity and
becoming a man.
Work Cited
Doyle, Mary Ellen. Voices
from the Quarters: The Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines. Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State UP, 2002. Print.
Estes, David C. Critical
Reflections on the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines. Athens: University of
Georgia, 1994. Print.
Gaines, Ernest J. A
Lesson before Dying. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1993. Print.
Steinbeck, John. Of
Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.
