Is Monster Signifying on A Lesson Before Dying? The Power and Possibilities of a Black American Literary Tradition

• In Event: From the Local to the Global: Literature and Literary Knowledge in and Across Context(s)

Abstract

This paper revisits Carol Lee’s (1993) suggestion that the black American literary theory and rhetorical strategy, signifying, is useful in classrooms, and it explores how Monster (1999) by Walter Dean Myers signifies on A Lesson Before Dying (1993) by Ernest J. Gaines. The paper traces Monster’s revision of the continual effects of racism from slavery to mass incarceration, the use of literacy in the quest for human dignity, and the positioning of whites within the legal system that contribute to the dehumanization of the main characters.

Author

• KaaVonia Hinton, Old Dominion University