Gifts and Obligations in Ernest Gaines A Lesson Before Dying
According to psychologists, suicide victims often give away their belongings before committing the ultimate act. In Ernest Gaines A Lesson before Dying, the characters exchange gifts and possessions as their relationships change and transform them over the course of the novel.The acts of receiving and giving gifts creates a network of connections that ties the community together. ... 65) Most of the gifts given to Jefferson while he is in jail are refused, but Jefferson shares them with the other prisoners. ... Finally Grant brings him the most important gifts in the novel: the radio and the notebook. Grant insists that the gifts be new.