User:Gr33nGr4c3

Introduction to Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying

Kaplan

Use the following websites to answer these questions.

http:aalbc.com/authors/ernest.htm

1.                 Where is Ernest Gaines from? He is from Parish louisanna

2.                 How does his hometown relate to his writing? Gaines published his first short story in 1956. Since then he has written eight books of fiction, including Catherine Carmier, Of Love and Dust, Bloodline, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Long Day in November, In My Father's House, and A Gathering of Old Men, most of which are available in Vintage paperback editions. A Lesson Before Dying, his most recent novel, won the 1993 National Book Critics Circle Award. He has also been awarded a MacArthur Foundation grant, for writings of "rare historical resonance."

3.                 Why did he leave the South? Gaines divides his time between San Francisco and Lafayette, Louisiana, where he is writer in residence at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He is married to the lawyer Dianne Saulney

4.                 What was his childhood like? he was without any parental unit at all

Go to http://cajunculture.com/Other/creole.htm. Read about Creole.

5.                 Define the term Creole in your own terms. it means to create

Go to http://cmgww.com/sports/louis/louis.html

6.                 What years did Jackie Robinson play professional baseball? he played from 1947-1956

7.                 Why is he an important figure in history? because he was a six time all star 8.                 Who is Joe Louis? an english soccor player

9.                 Why would he be considered a hero? Following a knee injury to Paul Crichton, 16-year-old schoolboy keeper Lewis was handed a first team squad number and a place on the bench for victories over Crystal Palace and Reading in the 2003–04 season.

Go to http://www.aclu.org/DeathPenalty/DeathPenaltyMain.cfm

10.             What is capital punishment? death

11.             How does the race of a victim a decisive factor in sentencing? The ACLU opposes capital punishment as a clear violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments. One reason the death penalty presents such a clear Eighth Amendment violation is that it is routinely imposed based on wholly improper factors, such as race, class, venue, the quality of counsel, whether the defendant is a resident of or a visitor to the jurisdiction in which the case is tried. Unequal justice is no justice at all.

12.             Today, what percent of death row inmates are Black? 75%

Go to http://www.nhmccd.cctx.us/contracts/lrc/kc/decades40.html

13.             What major event defined the 1940s? the depression

14.             What dominated popular music at the beginning of the decade? jazz

15.             Who was Duke Ellington? a jazz singer

16.             Who was Ella Fitzgerald? a jaz singer

17.             What was the average teacher’s salary?

18.             What was the average salary? 2$ an hour

19.             What percentage of the population was unemployed? 87%