Abraham1

AlexandraAbraham
Gardner
HonorsEnglish106thper.
21October2015

AnnotatedBibliography

Barrow,CraigW."ErnestJ.Gaines:Overview."
TwentiethCenturyYoungAdultWriters
.Ed.
LauraStandleyBerger.Detroit:St.JamesPress,1994.TwentiethCenturyWritersSeries.
LiteratureResourceCenter
.Web.9Nov.2015

TheseparagraphswrittenbyCraigBarrowbrieflyexplainErnestGainesnovel
ALessonBefore
Dying
andthenmoveontostatethewaysGainesnovelsaresimilarandtheimportantaspects
thatshowupineachofthem.BarrowsaysthatGaineswritesnovelsthataregrippingly
realisticandbecauseofhisstylisticchoicesGainesworksareeasytoconnectwithand
extremelyattractivetoproducersanddirectors.

WiththisoverviewofErnestGainesBarrowhasachievedasimplisticyetdetailedfieldof
informationthatanyErnestGainesfanwouldthoroughlyenjoy.Thediction,thoughscholarly,
wouldbeeasyforanypersontounderstand.Forastudent,theseparagraphsshowGaines
personalityandwritingstylegivingaclearerviewofwherehisstoriescomefrom.


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GordonYarbrough,Jane."ALessonBeforeDying."
TheAntiochReview
Winter1995:
116+.
LiteratureResourceCenter.
Web.31Oct.2015

ThisbriefbutwellconstructedarticlebyJaneGordonYarbroughpresentsastrongreviewon
ErnestGaines
ALessonBeforeDying
.Itiscompletewithasummarizationoftheplotdirectly
alongsideconvincingopinionsaboutthemesandmetaphorsofthenovel.Thisarticleiswell
writtenandeasytofollow.Theauthorendswithanemotionallyledparagraphabouthowthe
twoprotagonists,JeffersonandGrantWiggins,helpeachotherdiscoverwhotheyreallyareand
whattheyarecapableof.

GordonYarbroughoffersaneasilydigestedarticlethatconsistsofthreeconciseparagraphs
constructedfrompreciseandinformativediction.GordonYarbroughslanguageiseasyto
understandyetstillusefulforascholar.Readingthisarticlewouldgreatlybenefitstudentsin
theirunderstandingofthemesintegratedthroughthenovel.Intheend,thisarticleoffersan
honestperspectivealongwithasophisticatedplotoverviewoftheAmericanclassicnovel
A
LessonBeforeDying.

Summer,Bob."ErnestJ.Gaines."
PublishersWeekly
240.21(24May1993):62.Rpt.in
ContemporaryLiteraryCriticism
.Ed.ChristopherGirouxandJefferyChapman.Vol.86.
Detroit:Gale,1995.
LiteratureResourceCenter
.Web.9Nov.2015.(lastfiveparagraphs)


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TheseparagraphsbyBobSummerofferstoriesandaninterviewwiththeErnestGaines,
theauthorof
ALessonBeforeDying.
TheytalkaboutGainesinterviewwithWallace
Stegnerwherewefoundoutthat,onlywithagunpointedtothishead,Gaineswouldsay
hisaudienceis

blackyouthoftheSouth,tomakethemawareofwhotheyareandthe
whiteyouthoftheSouthtomakethemawarethatunlesstheyunderstandtheirblack
neighborstheycannotunderstandthemselves.WealsofindoutmoreaboutGainespast
duringthetimeinwhichhewrote
ALessonBeforeDying.

BobSummersparagraphsofferaveryinformativeinsighttoErnestGaineslifeduring
thetimehewrote
ALessonBeforeDying.
Summerstoneisverycolloquial,butstill
scholarlyenoughforstudentstobeabletoreadandactuallytakesomethingaway.The
paragraphsstrategicallyusesnippetsofinterviewswithGainesandofferindepth
informationaboutwhythenovelwaswrittenfromGainesownwords.

Vancil,DavidE."ALessonBeforeDying."
AfricanAmericanReview
28.3(1994):489+.
LiteratureResourceCenter
.Web.9Nov.2015.

ThiscriticalessaybyDavidVancilexploresmanyimportanttopicswithin
ALesson
BeforeDying
andalsosharestheauthorsErnestGaineswritingstyleandtone.Vancil
makesconnectionswithChristianbeliefsofredemptionaswellaseducationandrace


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treatmentinthetimeperiodofthebookyearsafterWorldWarII.Thearticleisendedon
astrongpointwithVancilstatingthatGaineshaswonaprestigiousMacArthur
Foundationawardandanyworkshewritesinthefuture,thoughnotlikelytobebetter
than
ALessonBeforeDying,
arebeinghighlyanticipated

DavidVancilscriticalessayonErnestGaines
ALessonBeforeDying
isanextremely
strongarticle.TheconnectionsthatVancilmakeswithreligion,raceandtimeareobvious
aspectsofdeepintellectandunderstandingofthetext.Anystudentorjustcurioushuman
couldenjoytheintelligenceandwellstructuredaspectsofthisarticleWhenreadingthis
essayyoustarttoseedifferentsidesoftheplotandgainabetterunderstandingofthe
circumstanceswithinthestoryjustastimeperiod.Overall,thisessayisaneasyreadbut
willgiveyouadifferentviewandbetterintellectonErnestGainesstory.

"Overview:
ALessonbeforeDying
."
NovelsforStudents
.Ed.DeborahA.Stanley.Vol.7.
Detroit:Gale,1999.
LiteratureResourceCenter
.Web.9Nov.2015.

Thisplotandcharacteroverviewofthenovel
ALessonBeforeDying
offersdetailsthatwill
sometimesbemissedbyreaders.Itdescribeseachcharacterandsectionsthebookintothree
parts.totalkaboutexactlywhathappensinthebookaswellashowthecharactersfeltandwhat
theydiscover.


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Thisarticleiswellwrittenandveryeasilyunderstood.Whetherastudentorjustacuriousreader,
thisoverviewwillbeinsightfulanduseful.Itoffersaverygoodunderstandingoftheplotand
wellthoughtoutdescriptionsofeachcharacterthatbringalonganewunderstandingofeachone.
Intheend,thisarticlewillgiveyoueverythingyouneedtounderstandexactlywhatishappening
inErnestGaines
ALessonBeforeDying.

RacisminLiterature.
TwentiethCenturyLiteraryCriticism.
Ed.JanetWitalec.Vol.138.
Detroit:Gale,2003.
LiteratureResourceCenter.
Web.21.Oct.2015.

Thisarticleoffersnumerousviewsofdifferenttacticsonracisminliterature,including
criticscitedexamplesofideassuchasprejudiceagainstavarietyofracesandreligions.
Thearticlegoesontostateanextensivelistofworksandhowcriticsviewedthoseauthors
storylines:forexample,MargoPerkinslooksatToniCadeBambara'sconstantthemeof
theimageofBlackwomeninher1970sshortstories.Overall,thearticledelvesinto
everythingfromtheuseofracialviolencetomanipulationofracialstereotypesandgivesus
astrongunderstandingonthemanywaysracismhasimpactedliterature.

Theseparagraphspresentmultipleperspectivesandinsightsonthevariousaspectsof
racisminliteratureoldandnew.Theinformationaddressedcoversanextremelywide
varietyofethicaltopicswhichincludetheopinionsofmanyauthorsonrace,religion,and
evengender.InthegreatAmericannovel
ALessonBeforeDying
thereaderisintroduced


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toaplotentirelybuiltoffofonemaintheme:racismagainstAfricanAmericansinthelate
1940swhichthearticlestatesisatopicmanyscholarshavebeenespeciallyinterestedin.
Thearticlegoesontopointoutthatmanyauthorsusedracismasnotonlyanunmistakable
themebutanunderlyingattributethatmaynotbeimmediatelyrecognizedbythereader.