He decided then to write those missing stories. These writers were white and had no personal experience with the kind of life Gaines knew existed for Southern blacks. He discovered that writers often gave the wrong impression of Southern blacks and the lives they led. Homesick for family, friends, and the Southern plantation lifestyle he had known, Gaines read any fiction he could find that was set in his homeland. Most importantly, he discovered libraries in San Francisco and quickly became an avid reader. San Francisco offered Gaines a world of new experiences far removed from his aunt's front porch.
Gaines moved to San Francisco, California, with his mother and stepfather when he was fifteen years old. Through listening and writing, Gaines grew to understand himself and his people. After Gaines learned to read and write, he enjoyed writing letters for his aunt and her elderly friends. Gaines's Aunt Augusteen cared for Gaines and his siblings as they grew up in "the Quarters." Gaines's earliest memories reflect times spent on his aunt's front porch listening to her friends' stories. (Colar) Gaines, worked as plantation laborers. His father, Manuel, and mother, Adrienne J.
Gaines, EJ for short, was born in the slave area of a Louisiana plantation on January 15, 1933. While some critics denounce Gaines for his failure to address blacks' difficulties in today's society, his defense is that he writes for all times and all people. He demonstrates that racism destroys people relationships suffer from people's choices and pride, honor, and manhood can prevail in trying times. Gaines is mellow with historical reflection, supple with wit, relaxed and expansive because he does not equate his people with failure." Alice Walker, in the New York Times Book Review, acknowledges Gaines's success with characterization in saying that Gaines "claims and revels in the rich heritage of Southern Black people and their customs the community he feels with them is unmistakable and goes deeper even than pride…. In an interview with Paul Desruisseaux for the New York Times Book Review, Gaines says he learned by "working in the fields, going fishing in the swamps with the older people, and, especially, listening to the people who came to my aunt's house, the aunt who raised me." His attention to the people he loves results in characters that are believable. Gaines credits his boyhood experiences for his ability to develop lifelike characters. Nor can readers ignore the personal struggles of Grant Wiggins as he teaches Jefferson to be a man. The author, Ernest Gaines, wants the reader to feel compassion for the young black man, Jefferson, whom jurors convict for a murder he did not commit.
Considered a success by readers and critics alike, the appeal for most readers is derived from the intense emotions the story evokes. Published by Knopf in 1993, A Lesson Before Dying is set in Louisiana.
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