A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines, is an American literary classic that is required reading for many high school students across the country. This is the tale of a Louisiana mans struggle with the judicial system and racial problems in his local community. "If We Must Die-, by Claude McKay is a wonderful poem which exhibits many similarities to this classic Gaines novel.
In the very first phrase of "If We Must Die-, McKay writes: "If we must die "Let it not be like hogs-. This is very much alike what is said about one of the main characters in A Lesson Before Dying, one of the most important points in this book is the fact that Jefferson (said character) is a non-educated hog that is put to death. Jefferson's family does not wish for him to "die like a hog-, they would rather that he dies like a man on his own two feet. This is where another main character, Grant Wiggins, comes in to "help Jefferson become a man- before he dies.
Another similarity between A Lesson Before Dying, and "If We Must Die- is the fact that, at the very end of the poem it is written: "Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack. Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back."" Not unlike Gaines' novel Grant, though at first perturbed about his situation, fights back with Jefferson before he dies, so that he can defy the odds and do what many local people thought was impossible, and make Jefferson an educated man before he was put to death in the electric chair.
Outstandingly, the similarities exhibited between these two pieces of literature are undeniable, regardless of the fact that they were written by two different men at two different times. Both are very interesting and inspirational pieces, which exhibit a lot of emotion in they writing style by these authors, and also, for a good portion of both, they have the same idea, which is to die like a man, not like some uneducated hog.
