Ms. Farry Advanced Composition
A Lesson Before Dying: Essay Topics
For your summative on Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying, choose one of the following topics:
1. Explore how Wiggins depicts the education system in the novel, examining how the scenes set within the classroom inform, contextualize or contrast with the learning that occurs beyond school walls.
2. Embark on a character study of Vivian. Why does Wiggins include this character in the novel? How does the strand of the story focused on Vivian’s relationship with Grant relate to the main storyline involving Grant’s interaction with Jefferson? In what ways is Vivian similar to or different from the other female characters (Tante Lou, Miss Emma)?
3. “I saw the transformation,” the prison guard tells Grant near the end of the novel, declaring himself a witness to Jefferson’s extraordinary progression. To what extent does Grant also undergo a transformation in the narrative? How does the teacher change, what does he learn, and in what ways might his transformation be incomplete? Consider his perspective in the beginning, middle and end of the novel.
4. Explore the depiction of faith and religion in the novel.
5. Design your own topic based on a pattern, problem or question that intrigues you. If you choose this option, make sure to talk with me about your proposed topic.
