Summary:
Religion has many faces in the novel A Lesson Before Dying. One face that rings particularly true is the notion that through religion one can gain dignity. Living in the South in past times was certainly a detriment to African-Americans such as the characters in the novel, and not surprisingly, African Americans put more emphasis on their own community and its church.
In the world we live in today, religion is an extremely vibrant factor, not only in the environment surrounding us but with the people we interact with as well. In Ernest J. Gaines' novel, A Lesson Before Dying, it is easy to see how religion impacts the community. In a small community such as this novel depicts, religion is the driving force behind nearly every decision made in the story and can be justified solely on the individual's values.
It is interesting to view religion as the most visible consistency in the novel when the main character, Grant Wiggins, is himself an atheist. Although he himself does not believe in things such as heaven or hell he is still impacted upon by the community around him. Grant, an educated man, has returned to his home town after attending college with aspirations of teaching children. At the same time Grant is teaching, a man named Jefferson is convicted for murder, his situation seemingly undeniable that he will be executed. At the court hearing, Jefferson pleads innocent and his lawyer's defense is to make Jefferson appear to be nothing more than a "hog." He does this to give the jury the idea that Jefferson, a man of little intelligence, is incapable of plotting such a murder. Being a black man in the South the jury's decision is a no-brainer, guilty; sentenced to death. Jefferson's godmother, Miss Emma, seeks help for Jefferson so as to let him die like a man. She turns to Grant for help, but Grant resists. After some more pressure from Grant's Aunt, Tante Lou, Grant agrees to help Jefferson to the best of his ability. Grant, never denying the injustices done to his fellow black men, was at first reluctant to help. It took some major influence from his Aunt, a religious woman herself, to convince him to help with Jefferson's case. This proves in fact, that religion is central to the community, meaning that religion's influence upon the community can be seen in every citizen's life. In this instance we have a man, Jefferson, who needs help to be able to regain his dignity and die like a man. Even though Grant, an atheist, would not be helping him do so through religion, he will give him understanding of the importance of his case to the community.
Religion has many faces in the novel as one would expect, but one face that rings true is the notion that through religion one can gain dignity. As you can imagine, living in the South in times such as these was certainly a detriment to African-Americans such as the characters in the novel, but why is it then that African Americans put, more often than not, so much clout to the community and its church? For simple reasons of course, because inside the church is where one can gain back the dignity that is lost nearly everyday through racism. Church is the only place where anyone can be a leader. Church is the place to express yourself freely and come together to share a ceremony where racism is not present. Most importantly church is the place to recognize and evaluate the lives of so many people that are continually being marginalized. This can be seen as another strong factor on how religion is central to the community. For example, people that become leaders inside the church are looked at with more respect, such as Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Reverend Ambrose; three very active members of the congregation. These three characters all embody the views of the church in the community. They are looked at with high admiration in their every day lives because of their service to God and their endless supply of hope, which was and still is a very strong belief in African-American communities; hope that society will change and hope that life will improve.
Finally religion again takes part in influencing the novel through the application of underlying religious beliefs that completely pepper the novel. This can be seen most clearly in the situation of Grant. Grant himself is an atheist. Knowing this it seems awkward to think that he would be the one most influenced by religion in the novel. One instance of this can be found in Chapter 27 where the Reverend and Grant are heatedly discussing, religion. The Reverend asks Grant, "You think a man can't kneel and stand"" To which Grant replies, "It hasn't helped me." (Gaines 216) Here, note that Grant and the Reverend are presenting different views on religion. The Reverend explains that kneeling before God does not in fact humble people, but rather gives them dignity. Grant on the other hand does not follow along with this belief. As he continues to reject the church and what it stands for in his mind (false-hope) he does find a parallel. This parallel being his rejection of the church closely relating to his inability to interact with the community fully. At this point one could make an argument that Grant is beginning to see that religion itself is not the thing he stands against but instead the false-hope that he finds when people, always hoping, never get anywhere. This is a complex that Grant is starting to shine light on and through his work with Jefferson it is clear a connection is made. This connection is seen at the end of the novel where Grant, after hearing the news of the completion of the execution, begins to shed tears of sadness.
In conclusion, the novel A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines, certainly lives up to its title. After reading the novel and analyzing the characters one could easily assume this lesson is one closely related to religion. Religion is the center of the community, a way to gain back dignity, and also a way to convey hope. Throughout the novel we see enlightenment in some of the characters and we also see a tight-knit community just striving to pull through. It is this that helps exemplify religion as the thread that ties it all together.
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