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Lesson before dying
Message de matildabett posté le 09-10-2011 à 13:09:35 (S | E | F)
Bonjour,
j'ai le commentaire du chapitre 1 "lesson before dying " à faire.
J'ai déjà fait le plan et rédigé quelques idées mais j'aurais besoin que l'on m'aide à rédiger le reste.
Merci pour vos réponses.
"A Lesson Before Dying", written in 1993 by Ernest J. Gaines is a novel set in the rural south of the US during the 1940’s that demonstrates the many difficulties black minorities faced. Their obligation to obey the whites, the fear of the KKK, racial segregation, and the absence of a colorblind legitimate judicial system caused most of them to feel helpless and constrained. In this first chapter the narrator is unidentified but we later understand that it is Grant Wiggins.
Jefferson, a young black man is sentenced to death by a white jury who is not even sure of his guilt. Although Grant did not go to Jefferson’s trial, he informs us of what happened at the scene of the crime and in the court room as if he had witnessed every moment of it. He explains that he did not want to assist in the trial since he knew the verdict in advance: Jefferson would be sentenced to death. We can therefore ponder on the attorney's plea: was it really sincere and to what extent were his efforts useless?
I. A The Attorney’s Plea is Sincere in a Hopeless Situation
A. Structure of Plea
He uses different techniques to convince jury; three main themes:
Racial segregation: (first and second paragraph)
Pity: (third paragraph: he tries to make the jury put themselves in Miss Emma’s place after Jefferson’s death, she will have "no reason to go on living")
Religion: that plays an important role throughout the entire book (fourth paragraph: the attorney wants the jury to feel that if they make the wrong decision it will live with them until their death "be merciful").
He therefore appeals to white prejudices to convince them
Vivid punctuation, enthusiasm, emphasis ("!")
Numerous repetitions ("Gentlemen of the jury")
B. A Degrading Hearing
The attorney wants to save his life but calls him a mindless "hog":
Dehumanization of Jefferson ("fool", "thing")
Humiliation for him and his family
The attorney is a southern stereotype that blacks are less than man, more than animal. Jefferson was robbed of his legal rights.
II. Southern Injustice
A. Context
Segregation and racism
Jim Crow Laws
Blacks condition in the south…
B. The White Jury's inevitable verdict
All the jury members were white (from the assigned attorney to the lawyers, the jury members and the judge)
There was no proof of Jefferson being guilty of crime and no witnesses
Little chance of a white jury acquitting a black man charged of murder
Conclusion:
Although the attorney's plea is sincere it is degrading for Jefferson and his family. His speech reveals all the hate and ugliness most southern whites embodied. The first dialogue of the book is held by a white man and clearly announces the main themes of the novel in a context of racism and segregation where fate is inevitable.
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Modifié par lucile83 le 09-10-2011 13:17
Nous corrigeons ce que vous écrivez, nous ne rédigeons pas à votre place.
Message de matildabett posté le 09-10-2011 à 13:09:35 (S | E | F)
Bonjour,
j'ai le commentaire du chapitre 1 "lesson before dying " à faire.
J'ai déjà fait le plan et rédigé quelques idées mais j'aurais besoin que l'on m'aide à rédiger le reste.
Merci pour vos réponses.
"A Lesson Before Dying", written in 1993 by Ernest J. Gaines is a novel set in the rural south of the US during the 1940’s that demonstrates the many difficulties black minorities faced. Their obligation to obey the whites, the fear of the KKK, racial segregation, and the absence of a colorblind legitimate judicial system caused most of them to feel helpless and constrained. In this first chapter the narrator is unidentified but we later understand that it is Grant Wiggins.
Jefferson, a young black man is sentenced to death by a white jury who is not even sure of his guilt. Although Grant did not go to Jefferson’s trial, he informs us of what happened at the scene of the crime and in the court room as if he had witnessed every moment of it. He explains that he did not want to assist in the trial since he knew the verdict in advance: Jefferson would be sentenced to death. We can therefore ponder on the attorney's plea: was it really sincere and to what extent were his efforts useless?
I. A The Attorney’s Plea is Sincere in a Hopeless Situation
A. Structure of Plea
He uses different techniques to convince jury; three main themes:
Racial segregation: (first and second paragraph)
Pity: (third paragraph: he tries to make the jury put themselves in Miss Emma’s place after Jefferson’s death, she will have "no reason to go on living")
Religion: that plays an important role throughout the entire book (fourth paragraph: the attorney wants the jury to feel that if they make the wrong decision it will live with them until their death "be merciful").
He therefore appeals to white prejudices to convince them
Vivid punctuation, enthusiasm, emphasis ("!")
Numerous repetitions ("Gentlemen of the jury")
B. A Degrading Hearing
The attorney wants to save his life but calls him a mindless "hog":
Dehumanization of Jefferson ("fool", "thing")
Humiliation for him and his family
The attorney is a southern stereotype that blacks are less than man, more than animal. Jefferson was robbed of his legal rights.
II. Southern Injustice
A. Context
Segregation and racism
Jim Crow Laws
Blacks condition in the south…
B. The White Jury's inevitable verdict
All the jury members were white (from the assigned attorney to the lawyers, the jury members and the judge)
There was no proof of Jefferson being guilty of crime and no witnesses
Little chance of a white jury acquitting a black man charged of murder
Conclusion:
Although the attorney's plea is sincere it is degrading for Jefferson and his family. His speech reveals all the hate and ugliness most southern whites embodied. The first dialogue of the book is held by a white man and clearly announces the main themes of the novel in a context of racism and segregation where fate is inevitable.
-------------------
Modifié par lucile83 le 09-10-2011 13:17
Nous corrigeons ce que vous écrivez, nous ne rédigeons pas à votre place.
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