Ernest Gaines was born in 1933 in New Roads, Louisiana,on Point Coupee Parish. He was raised on Riverside Plantation by his aunt, Miss Jefferson, who was a cripple and had to crawl about the floor to move around. Nevertheless, she cooked and washed clothes, and also crawled about the ground gathering walnuts to sell. She never complained. Gaines' book "The Autobiography of Mrs. Jane Pittman", was based on his aunt. He was born when his mother was sixteen, and is the eldest of six. He went to school five months out of the year because the black children had to work on the plantation. The white kids went to school for nine months. Although he didn't recieve the best education, he was very fond of reading. At fifteen, he moved to California to live with his mother and stepfather. This was probably the best thing that he could have done, because staying at the plantation would have broken him, and California is also where his writing career excelled. He published A Lesson Before Dying in 1933, which is his newest novel. He has written seven novels and short stories.
By Kate T. 10th grade
(edit)
