Pre-Civility in A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple
Part of the reason A Lesson Before Dying and The Color Purple are so esteemed is the ability of both works to capture the essence of what the Pre-civil rights era was like for the black community. Both pieces encapsulate the cruelty and degradation the community was forced to deal with as black Americans were treated as subservient to white America and the injustices that transpired as a result.
The Post Civil War treatment of African Americans was hardly any better then slavery. “[T]he newly freed slaves labored under conditions similar to those existing before the war…The new state legislatures passed laws designed to keep blacks in poverty and in positions of servitude.” (5) Originally they were not allowed to own land or vote and were continuously prosecuted for trumped up charges under pro-slavery legislators. Through many legal battles blacks were given rights to own land and pursue avenues that would improve their quality of life, but they were very limited. The school system proved to be the largest contender in the advancement of the society. “[I]n the Deep South, black schools in Louisiana suffered from extreme neglect and overcrowding” (Johnson, pg. 148). Whites and blacks were kept separate, not aloud to intermingle, especially in school. A ‘separate but equal’ policy came to play were black institutions were established to mirror white institutions. But “the indifference of the local school board, the lack of adequate materials, the over crowded conditions in a small facility, and the low salaries, were all dominant characteristics of Black schooling prior to World Was II” (Fultz, pg. 196) all contrived to subvert any attempts of the black community to better themselves. In many cases parents of black children would keep them from school, viewing work as a more productive use of time and resources.
Both novels capture the inequalities and low social standing the black community held, as well as the self-sabotage that took place. In Walker’s, The Color Purple, Celie is the victim of her own community as much as white society. She is taken from school by her stepfather who sees no reason for the girl to pursue further education, “You too dumb to be going to school, Pa say. Nettie the clever one in the bunch,” (Walker, pg. 9). Unable to grow intellectually, Celie is stunted and shut into a subservient role that she cannot escape. With no training she perceives herself as useless in all things save child rearing and housework. Walker also captures the white black interactions; the way blacks are talked down to and disregarded as humans in the novel mirrored the traditional attitudes of the time. Sofia’s defiance is an oddity and winds her in jail for her troubles and attempts to force everyone to see black women as more then what they are being forced to be. Ernest J. Gaines novel, A Lesson Before Dying, shows the frustration and inability to escape from the unjust white legislature that is oppressing black society during this time. Jefferson is killed for a crime he didn’t commit merely because he was a black man on site. Grant is shown to be a helpless pawn in the white communities ministrations as he teaches his students bible verses and watches as they are treated as chattel, “Dr. Joseph has graduated to the level where he let the children spread out their own lips, rather than using some kind of crude metal instrument. I appreciated his humanitarianism,” (Gaines, pg. 56). There seems to be no escaping this mistreatment, to protest would only bring the wrath of the white community. So they must grin and bear it not forgetting their ‘sirs’ at the end of their sentences.
Cruelty and carelessness characterized the treatment of blacks by whites Pre-civil rights and both novels capture the essence of the time but they also impart a hopefulness that things would change. Both novels end with the main character’s growth and rising forward to meet the challenges given them with grace and determination leaving an uplifting and hopeful message of days to come.
Fultz, Michael. “Teacher Training and African American Education in the South, 1900-1940”. The Journal of Negro Education 67 (1995): 196-210.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.
Johnson, Phillip J. “Confronting the Dilemma: Charles S. Johnson’s Study of Lousisana’s Black Schools”. The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 38 (1997): 133-155.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Orlando, Florida: A Havest Book Harcourt, Inc, 2003.
"Life After the 13th Amendment". Rochester. March 4.
12:25:00 PM
Post a Comment