A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest Gaines

Women are the society’s backbone

In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, three women take care of not only themselves but others. These three women are Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Vivian. Tante Lou is the woman who raises Grant when his mother ran off. Miss Emma is Jefferson’s godmother and she cares for him a lot. Vivian is Grant’s girlfriend, she is also a teacher in Bayonne. She affects the community through the kids she teaches and she changes Grant in ways that no one saw coming. The characters Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Vivian are the support system in the black community. These women are rarely acknowledged for their sacrifices, but they still manage to keep the community together.
A backbone is the chief support of a system, Tante Lou

Miss Emma surely is not the biggest and most scariest on the plantation, however she still manages to show she cares and make efforts to help people she loves. After the trial when Miss Emma and Tante Lou get to Mr. Pichot’s house, she asks for a favor and says “ …. I didn’t raise no hog, and I don’t want no hog to go set in that chair. I want a man to go set in that chair” (20). Miss Emma is not only looking out for Jefferson, but in the long run all the black men on the plantation. Seeing an innocent man like her godson being sentenced to death is motivation to not only try to free Jefferson, but stop others from being wrongfully accused. When she and Mr. Pichot are talking she says “ i’m old, Mr. Henri, … Jefferson go’n need me, but i’m too old to be going up there ( 20). She uses the fact that in the past she worked for Mr.Pichot and that he owes her for everything she has done for him and her family, and it pays off. Miss Emma is really clever, where she uses her experience to get what she wants and needs. Miss Emma is careful when it comes to her asking for things. She will only ask something persistently if she knows that person had the real ability to complete the task. When Tante Lou and Grant are arguing in front of Miss Emma about visits with Jefferson, Miss Emma interrupts and says “i’m sorry Mr.Grant, i’m helping them white people to humiliate you … i wished they had someone else we could turn to. But they

Vivian is Grant’s girlfriend. Vivian knows that she has a responsibility and she takes it serious, which shows commitment to the community. Grant finds comfort when he is with Vivian, to the point that he confides in her and tells her all that he is going through. Vivian also knows how to comfort Grant when he does not know what to do. Grant and Vivian are speaking and he expresses “ i don’t want to do this to you. I just didn’t know where else to turn to …” and she replies “ i want you to come to me, Grant … i want you to always come to me” (31). Grant the man that everyone is counting on to make a change in Jefferson struggles and when he does he goes to Vivian. Vivian is a safe haven for Grant almost, she somehow finds a way to get Grant to open up and tell her things that he would not tell anyone else. Vivian is also a good motivator to Grant to actually do something with his life. After expressing his hesitation to visit Jefferson she uses his love for her to push him to make the visits. Grant has a lot of pressure on him and Vivian makes him forget about it. She gets him to go by talking telling him if the Sheriff does let him visit “[ she] want him to go for [her] … for us Grant”(32). Vician convinces Grant even though he has to go it is not just for Jefferson’s benefit, Miss Emma nor Tante Lou it is to benefit everyone and to protect the community. Vivian knows what her position in