Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying
This article examines the representation of gift exchange in Ernest Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying. Drawing upon sociological and anthropological theories of the gift, it argues that gift exchange among the black community in the fictional town of Bayonne provides a mechanism of resistance to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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New York City College of Technology
2017-07-01
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| Series: | NANO |
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| Online Access: | https://nanocrit.com/issues/issue11/Gift-Exchange-as-Communal-Resistance-in-Ernest-Gaines-Lesson-Before-Dying |
| _version_ | 1818960433499865088 |
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| author | Scott Thomas Gibson |
| author_facet | Scott Thomas Gibson |
| author_sort | Scott Thomas Gibson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the representation of gift exchange in Ernest Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying. Drawing upon sociological and anthropological theories of the gift, it argues that gift exchange among the black community in the fictional town of Bayonne provides a mechanism of resistance to racial oppression in the Jim Crow South. The analysis first traces the history convergence of market and gift economies under slavery and the impact of these economic structures on African American dehumanization through the Jim Crow era. It then explores how A Lesson Before Dying reclaims gift exchange as a subversive practice that allows Jefferson, a man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, to reclaim his sense of manhood and reintegrate him into Bayonne’s black community. Ultimately, the novel prompts consideration of how gifts undermine systemic oppression in a racialized market economy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:57:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b301bc185d7a497c8b8bedbc8e34df8d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2160-0104 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:57:27Z |
| publishDate | 2017-07-01 |
| publisher | New York City College of Technology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NANO |
| spelling | doaj.art-b301bc185d7a497c8b8bedbc8e34df8d2022-12-21T19:41:37ZengNew York City College of TechnologyNANO2160-01042017-07-0111Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before DyingScott Thomas Gibson0La Universidad San Francisco, Quito, EcuadorThis article examines the representation of gift exchange in Ernest Gaines’s novel, A Lesson Before Dying. Drawing upon sociological and anthropological theories of the gift, it argues that gift exchange among the black community in the fictional town of Bayonne provides a mechanism of resistance to racial oppression in the Jim Crow South. The analysis first traces the history convergence of market and gift economies under slavery and the impact of these economic structures on African American dehumanization through the Jim Crow era. It then explores how A Lesson Before Dying reclaims gift exchange as a subversive practice that allows Jefferson, a man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, to reclaim his sense of manhood and reintegrate him into Bayonne’s black community. Ultimately, the novel prompts consideration of how gifts undermine systemic oppression in a racialized market economy.https://nanocrit.com/issues/issue11/Gift-Exchange-as-Communal-Resistance-in-Ernest-Gaines-Lesson-Before-Dyingresistancegift exchangeErnest Gainesliteraturecommunity |
| spellingShingle | Scott Thomas Gibson Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying NANO resistance gift exchange Ernest Gaines literature community |
| title | Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying |
| title_full | Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying |
| title_fullStr | Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying |
| title_short | Gift Exchange as Communal Resistance in Ernest Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying |
| title_sort | gift exchange as communal resistance in ernest gaines s a lesson before dying |
| topic | resistance gift exchange Ernest Gaines literature community |
| url | https://nanocrit.com/issues/issue11/Gift-Exchange-as-Communal-Resistance-in-Ernest-Gaines-Lesson-Before-Dying |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT scottthomasgibson giftexchangeascommunalresistanceinernestgainessalessonbeforedying |