Religion In A Lesson Before Dying

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In A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines (the author) adopts a more affirming attitude toward the entire range of Southern traditional rural culture, and he finds in this culture, which includes African-American religion, respect for elders, loyalty to family and neighbors, and common-sense morality, a useful and enduring cultural tradition that can be set against the fragmentation inherent in the long Diaspora. The importance of A Lesson Before Dying rests in the novel's acceptance of a Southern folk culture about which Gaines has demonstrated considerable ambivalence through most of his career. In this novel, Gaines has achieved a greater clarity and perspective in his presentation of the workings of an entire cultural system. As a result of his discovery of the traditional culture as a basis for authority, he appears more hopeful. There is a real sense that the components are there to restore order to a culture fragmented by Diaspora.

A Lesson Before Dying contains many allusions to religion throughout the length of the work. Most prevalent being christian imagery. Even though the protagonist (being Grant) of A Lesson Before Dying spends five days a week in a church, he has a big problem with religion. The school where he teaches is housed in a plantation church in rural Louisiana, and he steers completely clear of …show more content…
His cynical nature and uncaring, even effortless, teaching style change in trying to move Jefferson to die with dignity. The cynical Grant begins to think of him as a Christ figure—repenting in front of Jefferson and saying that he feels lost—but should Jefferson show him the way, he will find salvation, if not as a Christian then as a caring and active member of the community. Grant tells Vivian that only Jefferson can break the cycle of failed black men; at the end of the novel, Grant begs Jefferson’s forgiveness as if speaking to a savior. Not only did Jefferson transform, but Grant did
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