A Lesson Before Dying Major Works Data Sheet
Data Sheet – English 1 Honors Block: 1AB Date: 4/27/13
Title:
A Lesson Before Dying
Author:
Ernest J. Gaines
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Title Associations or Predictions:
Given the title, A Lesson Before Dying, we can infer and predict that a character in the book will die. Also, we can predict that before they die, they will learn something, probably a valuable lesson
Biographical Information about the author:
Ernest J. Gaines was born in Oscar, Louisiana in 1933. He was born and raised on a plantation. He had six brothers and sisters and they were taken care of by his great aunt, Augusteen Jefferson. Him and his siblings were sent to labor alongside their elders in the fields. He served in the U.S. Army, but then pursued writing. Some other books that he’s written include A long Day in November, Of Love and Dust, Cathering Carmier, Bloodline, In My Father’s House, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. He lives now at a house that he and his wife built on land that was once part of River Lake Plantation, where he spent his childhood, and where his ancestors labored for generations.
Helpful background information or information about the period of publication:
Ernest J. Gaines was born in Oscar, Louisiana, so this can explain the setting of the story. The struggle would be similar in both places. Lots of things in A Lesson Before Dying reflect his own life. Gaines wasa born on a plantation (where he lived in slave cabins of former slaves), went to school in a one-room church (much like the one Grant taught at), his mother and step-father moved from the south, and the strongest adult influence was his great aunt (like Tante Lou).
Plot:
Exposition:
We are introduced to narrator, Grant Wiggins. He is a teacher at a church that was converted into a school. The story is located outside of Bayonne, Louisiana and the characters sometimes travel to Bayonne. It is still extremely racist and even though the blacks here have some rights,
Title:
A Lesson Before Dying
Author:
Ernest J. Gaines
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Title Associations or Predictions:
Given the title, A Lesson Before Dying, we can infer and predict that a character in the book will die. Also, we can predict that before they die, they will learn something, probably a valuable lesson
Biographical Information about the author:
Ernest J. Gaines was born in Oscar, Louisiana in 1933. He was born and raised on a plantation. He had six brothers and sisters and they were taken care of by his great aunt, Augusteen Jefferson. Him and his siblings were sent to labor alongside their elders in the fields. He served in the U.S. Army, but then pursued writing. Some other books that he’s written include A long Day in November, Of Love and Dust, Cathering Carmier, Bloodline, In My Father’s House, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. He lives now at a house that he and his wife built on land that was once part of River Lake Plantation, where he spent his childhood, and where his ancestors labored for generations.
Helpful background information or information about the period of publication:
Ernest J. Gaines was born in Oscar, Louisiana, so this can explain the setting of the story. The struggle would be similar in both places. Lots of things in A Lesson Before Dying reflect his own life. Gaines wasa born on a plantation (where he lived in slave cabins of former slaves), went to school in a one-room church (much like the one Grant taught at), his mother and step-father moved from the south, and the strongest adult influence was his great aunt (like Tante Lou).
Plot:
Exposition:
We are introduced to narrator, Grant Wiggins. He is a teacher at a church that was converted into a school. The story is located outside of Bayonne, Louisiana and the characters sometimes travel to Bayonne. It is still extremely racist and even though the blacks here have some rights,