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Examples Of Injustice In A Lesson Before Dying

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How is the theme of injustice shaped in A Lesson Before Dying? It is clear that justice has an ambiguous meaning in the novel A Lesson Before Dying, but gaines is trying to unravel the mystery and explain what justice and injustice are. In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines conveys the theme of injustice throughout the entire the novel countless times. Gaines does this by exemplifying the many ways in which injustice is portrayed, from Jefferson being arrested because of his color, to Jefferson being found guilty for a crime he did not commit, or even to Jefferson being executed for a crime he did not commit. Racial Injustice played a big role because racism at this time was still very prominent and was shown strongly.In this town the system …show more content…

The trial itself was unjust. From the fact that the jury did not have at least one of Jefferson’s peers, the judge and the jury was an act of injustice in its own right. Jefferson was convicted and found guilty the moment he stepped in the courtroom before even a word was muttered, because the color of his skin. The judge and jury never were truly listening to Jefferson’s case, never hearing the wrong time and the wrong place ,but instead a negro being in the same place as a dead white man. A Lesson Before Dying shows how injustice acts are recognized and having to face the responsibility of making a change. “ The injustice done to an individual is sometimes of service to the public”. This means that one injustice can resonate something within a group, that can make them want to do something to change that unjust act. Each unfair act causes frustration throughout the the town, which brings out the negative attitude that the town already …show more content…

This was especially true for black's living in the South during the early 20th century. With little federal oversight and even less concern for the civil rights of minorities, the story of Jefferson in Earnest Gaines masterpiece "A Lesson Before Dying", accurately illustrates a black man's struggle for a fair legal system. Injustice was first portrayed at the beginning of the novel where, Ernest J. Gaines points out that there are twelve white men on the jury, to give Jefferson a verdict, a verdict of a black man who has allegedly killed two black men & more importantly killed one white man. A true Injustice act has taken place. The court has appointed Jefferson a white man to be his lawyer, who has called Jefferson a hog, something which is less of a man. The scene that sets the stage for the entire novel is the sentencing of the case which was Guilty, and verdict of death by electrocution for Jefferson. "Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person" & "A fool does what others tell him to do" There is a label on Jefferson of been a hog, the lawyer states that Jefferson is less than a human being. He comments on his lack of education, the shape of his skull, his animal instincts and his African origin. These are all true to the fact of racism and injustice. The thought that

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