Symbolism In Ernest Gaines A Lesson Before Dying

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Do you think your work is tough? Well, I don’t suppose that you have ever changed a man’s life in jail. In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, Grant Wiggins has to make a prisoner think that they are a man before their untimely death. In the story, the symbolism of the hogs, children and the butterfly are used to enforce Gaines' theme that you can’t change your past, but you can change your future. This paper begins by providing examples of repetition and then transformation.
Throughout the book, Jefferson the prisoner keeps on calling himself a hog. When Jefferson calls himself a hog, this ties into Gaines’ theme of the inability to change one’s past. Slavery was still going on in the 1940s, where this book takes place. Jefferson calling …show more content…
Throughout the book, we are introduced to Grants students. Other than the fact that the school is there for Grant because he is the narrator and we need some information on him, the school is a symbol. The school relates to Gaines’ theme in the sense that, Grant doesn’t think him changing lives is effective. The school symbolizes Grants thoughts as he is in turmoil because, like Jefferson, Grant doesn’t know if he is making a difference in the children’s lives. Grant starts to question himself, such as, “What am I doing? Am I reaching them at all?” (Gaines 62). Even though the quote comes from the children laughing, this quote can be applied to Grant’s workings with Jefferson. Jefferson kept on calling himself a hog and Grant didn’t see a stop to the name-calling. There were times when Grant would not go to the visits because he thought he wasn’t reaching Jefferson. Such as, “It’s she that keeps me coming here. I wouldn’t be in this damn hole without her.” (Gaines 130). Apart from the school education, Gaines also writes religious education seen here, “No, you not educated, boy. You don’t even know yourself” (Gaines 215). This is another example of the inability to change. Grant doesn’t believe in God and there is nothing he can do to change it. Reverend Ambrose is telling Grant to find religion in order to become more educated. [Insert
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