Religion and Heaven In Ernest J. Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying, we learn about man, his suffrage, and his development. This novel is a story about man’s soul and dignity. It is a story about a young mans soar to the peak of humanity and heroism. It is a novel of improvement and development. Jefferson, who has been sentenced to death for a crime he has not committed—once referred by his …showed first 75 words of 956 total…

…showed last 75 words of 956 total…Emma finally got to see someone to stand for her. Tante Lou learned that she had a decent nephew, and finally Jefferson realized that he was no animal and learned to act like a man. And all of this was because they were saved one way or another. This novel was about the heroism of resisting and defying the expected. Jefferson defies the “Myth” of the white man and “chips away that myth by standing” (192).