For Gaines it's only natural his art would imitate his life. Gaines created characters in his books that are living in the same conditions he did. Native to Louisiana, Ernest Gaines was born in 1933 and raised on a plantation, much like the character Grant was in A Lesson Before Dying. After his parents divorce, his aunt became his most prominent parental figure, just like Grant is with his aunt in the novel. Gaines' education consisted of learning in one room in a local black church. Exactly like Grant. It's easy to see the characters Gaines creates are merely extensions of himself.
During World War II, Gaines moved to California with his mother and stepfather to take advantage of the ever-growing economy there. It was then he discovered what libraries have to offer, and with that his love of literature. He wrote many short stories through the course of his years at San Francisco State University, which led to his admission into a writing program at Stanford University (Author).
Catherine Carmier was published in 1964 as Gaines' first book. Unfortunately it was not as successful as he hoped. In 1968, Gaines struck gold with Bloodline. He used his knowledge of African American history to depict the lives of blacks in rural towns in Louisiana. In 1974, a television adaption for his novel, The Autobiography of Miss Jan Pittman, won an Emmy, thus bringing Gaines' name into the spotlight. In 1993, he wrote his most critically acclaimed work, A Lesson Before Dying. He won the National Book Critics Circle Award for it and in 1997 it was selected for Oprah's book club. Over the course of his career, Gaines was the recipient of many awards. He currently resides in Louisiana with his wife (Author).
"There will always be men struggling to change, and there will always be those who are controlled by the past." "Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands." "Question everything. Every stripe, every star, ever word spoken. Everything (Quotes)." - Ernest Gaines
These are the beliefs Gaines had that led to the fundamental purpose of writing A Lesson Before Dying. Gaines wanted to make a character that questioned the status quo. Who wanted to change things, just unsure how to go about it. He wanted a character that broke the stereotype of what people saw African American as during that time. He wanted to create a novel that went against what people believed and opened audiences eyes to not only the truth, but to let them see how the other half lived. Gaines accomplished his goals and created a novel that will still be talked about for years to come.
Gaines' may have had an ulterior motive behind his intentions of writing A Lesson Before Dying, but in the end he was basically writing about his life. He wrote about his own struggles and what he saw others have to experience. In a sense Grant is Gaines. They both were raised the same way, in the same type of small town, and had to face the same prejudice every day. It may be considered a fictional novel, but Gaines gave the novel a real life feel by adding situations and events that actually occurred during that time.
"In Church.Stanford." aalbc. Web. 8 Jul 2011. <http://aalbc.com/authors/Ernest%20Gaines%20in%20Church.Sanford.jpg>.
Gaines, Ernest. "A Lesson Before Dying Excerpt." Random House. 08/07/2011. Reading.
"Gaines Quotes." BrainyQuote. BookRags Media Network, 2001. Web. 8 Jul 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/ernest_gaines.html>.
"Ernest J. Gaines, Author." aalbc (1997): n. pag. Web. 8 Jul 2011. <http://aalbc.com/authors/ernest.htm>.
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