The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Ernest J. Gaines

Jane Pittman is a black woman in Louisiana. She tells her story - from the time of the Civil War in the United States through the 1960's and the raising of black consciousness and militancy. Miss Jane has seen "the people" through all phases as they start to shake off the oppression of hundreds of years and take some respect in themselves.

Although still a child, when freedom is announced by their master, Miss Jane proclaims she is leaving. After her group of people are attacked by white marauders, she is left with a young boy that she decides to raise. She and Ned keep walking until they find a place to settle.

When Ned is grown she meets John Pittman. She moves in with him as Ned leaves to make his way in the world. He has a burning need to help black people as they establish new lives away from the South. Miss Jane continues to stay in Louisiana with John Pittman.

The years pass. Miss Jane watches as children grow up, loved ones die, white people try to keep the blacks "in their place" in Louisiana, and black people learn they are entitled to more. This is her story. She would consider it unremarkable except that she lived to "108 or 109" at least. Yet through her eyes and her colorful narrative we see the emergence of a group of people as they slowly learn to find their way in a country that does not want to change.

What a wonderful book! This book helps the reader feel what the black people lived with during the 1800's and 1900's after the Civil War in the United States. It is a simple story, full of day to day living. It is not about freedom marches or militant characters. Instead it is about ordinary people following their convictions or lack thereof. It is an exceptional, upbeat snapshot of a dark piece of American history.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines