Character Analysis: A Lesson Before Dying

Grant gives Jefferson a compassionate and heartfelt lecture/speech which causes Jefferson to start crying and it leads Grant to cry as

Grant had the option to help Jefferson through his hard time. Grant could have gave up on and let him die with no dignity but he did not give up. Although Jefferson had negative thoughts and emotions while he was in the jail cell, Grant speaks to him with motivation and determination. Grant tells Jefferson “ You have the chance of being bigger than anyone who has ever lived on the plantation or come from this little town.” (Gaines, 193). Grant had a huge amount of responsibility to put some purpose in Jefferson’s life. Grant did this by making his own decisions and uplifting Jefferson and tried to bring meaning into his

Grant grew up on a plantation with his cousin Jefferson where their mothers Miss Emma and Tante Lou worked. When he grew up, he went to college and returned a teacher. When he returned he was greeted by a trial in which Jefferson was being tried. Jefferson is being accused of murder and stealing from a liquor store. While he’s innocent of murder, the judge believes otherwise and gives him a death sentence. He is to die by electric chair. Many thoughts occured

In Jefferson’s diaray he speaks highly of Grant: “I cry cause you been so good to me mr wigin an nobody aint never been that good to me an make me think im somebody” (232). Grant is like any teacher receiving a note of appreciation from their worse student, not only is he surprised but he learns a lot about himself. He learns that he is not only a teacher of reading, math, and arithmetic like he has boldly proclaimed throughout the novel; however, he is a teacher of life and if he can sacrifice his selfish ways he can learn and change so many other lives. When Paul reveals to Grant that during the execution Jefferson was the strongest person in the room, Grant is overwhelmed:” I was crying” (256).Jefferson was greatly impacted but it’s clear that Grant was the most affected.

As a teacher, Grant was a bitter person. He was bitter because he could only see the ignorant side of the situation. This was because Grant in the beginning refuses to see the optimistic side of what could happen for the better, but instead only views the side that there was no way in hoping for the better. This was demonstrated when Grant explained to the students that he was only a teacher he couldn’t change an adult into becoming a ‘man’ and that had been why he was teaching the students how to become a man so that they wouldn’t have to go through what Jefferson was going through (Gaines 39).

Grant is trying to encourage Jefferson to become a man without the self-doubt of himself interfering. “Do I know how a man is supposed to die… Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived?”. This implies that while Grant is persuaded to help Jefferson by Vivian to help a person in his community. Grant is seen developing his connection with the people of his hometown, Grant sees hope in the future and is developing a different way of

The lawyers refer to him as a ‘hog’. “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.” (Gaines, 8). This degrading argument is what starts the lesson for Jefferson, to teach him that he is “a man”, not a hog. Jefferson learns how to respect himself. He says, "...I'm strong tell them I'm a good man.” (Gaines 234). Jefferson finally starts to see himself as an actual human being rather than the hog he is portrayed as. Jefferson stops letting this define him as a man and stands up for himself after a few talks with Grant Wiggins. This change can be recognized after a few of Grant's visits when Jefferson does not refer to himself as a hog but still talks with Grant. Jefferson is faced with the knowledge that there are people with a small chance of receiving justice in the white man's world. This is shown when Grant states, "You could give them something that I never could. They expect it from me, but not from you. The white

For the majority of the novel, Grant denies that he can help Jefferson in any way at all. When his aunt and Miss Emma request that Grant go talk to Jefferson to teach him that he is a man, Grant explains, "It is only a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months – but he's already dead…All I can do is try to keep the others from ending up like this…There's nothing I can do anymore, nothing any of us can do anymore" (14). Before receiving extreme pressure from his aunt to comply, Grant goes so far as to refuse to even attempt to help Jefferson. With this attitude that "There's nothing [he] can do anymore," Grant can, in fact, do nothing. Even though Grant correctly recognizes the fact that Jefferson will die in a short while, he fails to acknowledge the possibility of working through the injustices to make a difference. Grant, himself, feels stuck in his environment – he is "just running in place" there – yet he feels a sort of responsibility for his people and an attraction to the town, and cannot bring himself to leave (15). In order to "try to keep the others from ending up like" Jefferson, Grant wants to help his students, but he fails to respect them (14). If Grant has a bad day, he takes out his anger on his students, slapping them on the back of the head for playing with an insect, or sending them to the corner for an hour

Grant a school teacher who works as a school teacher in the African American church of the town of Bayonne, Louisiana. Not only was Jefferson learning , so was Grant. “[Grant’s] eyes were closed before [the] moment [with] Jefferson[,] [Grant’s] eyes have been closed all [his] life” during this moment of realization Grant began to open his eyes and realize “[they] all need [Jefferson] [,] [e]very last one of [them]".This realization shows how Grant became open to the fact that transformation is possible for anyone who really tries. Grant used to be bitter; he neglected the fact that he could change his life or himself in any way because of the racial prejudice in his community. But once he saw Jefferson turn into a man who stands up straight and tall right before his eyes, his opinion on the possibility of change is altered. Grant’s thought that “it is finally over” is not only pertaining to Jefferson’s death which is portrayed symbolically by the butterfly, but also how Grant’s cowardly persona is “finally over” as well. Grant has finally taken a stand for what he believes

Grant is an educated man he is charge of a school. Grant is faithful to his girlfriend and he is very insecure about changing Jefferson mind because he thinks he is a hog. Grant also has teach school at a church. A lesson before dying is really a lesson tough because Grant goes to teach Jefferson how to be a man before he die.

The fact that Grant considers himself to be better than all of the black residents of Bayonne is one of the many things that holds Grant back from being an effective coach to assist Jefferson in his quest to become a man. Another contributing factor to his ineffective teaching is his lack of self confidence. If Jefferson does not see a worthy example of how to be a man, then he will never effectively become one himself. After a few visits to see Jefferson in his cell, persevering through his own belief that he is not making a difference, being told that he was wasting his time, he realized that he was doing much more than performing a favor for Miss Emma and Tante Lou. He realized that he wasn’t only trying to turn Jefferson into a man. This was Miss Emma and Tante Lou’s way of teaching himself a lesson on how to live his life and who he really is. “I need you,” I told him. “I need you much more than you could ever need me” (Gaines, 193). This quote represents the

The main theme and lesson is that self-dignity is intrinsic to our survival. Jefferson even sacrificed his freedom, and ultimately his life, in order to die as a man with dignity. Although Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, was old and frail, she did all that she could to make sure that Jefferson died nothing less than a man. In Jefferson’s last letter to Mr. Wiggins, he wanted to make sure that he was going to be remembered as a “strong man” (Gaines

Through Grant’s actions it is easy to see he is not comfortable with his life. He lives in a small, racially discriminated and prejudiced town, and is a college educated man treated like a man who hasn’t finished elementary school. Adding Jefferson’s situation on top of all that, it is easy to see how Grant desires to simply give up and run away with the love of his life, Vivian. But Grant realizes that the issues at hand are bigger than just him; the way Jefferson dies will have a lasting impact, much like Christ’s crucifixion, on the local community. He understands that the dignity Jefferson shows in

Leaning on her ability to persuade, and using her power as an extensive friend to Tante Lou she can basically tell Grant what to do and gets away with it. She knew Grant did not want to go and teach Jefferson, but still went ahead with it. Driving along the St. Charles River I could feel Emma not looking at me, not looking at anything..just thinking. Like my Aunt she knew how much I hated all of this.(p.68) Miss Emma therefore forces Grant to do matters that she wants, not what Grant thinks he is capable of doing. Thirdly, Vivian, the love of his life, is also limiting Grant's ability to make decisions based strictly on his own intent. She understands Grant's need to leave and see new things, but has restrictions in her life that will not allow her to help Grant begin a new existence. Vivian is in the middle of a drawn out divorce and needs to see it through so she can maintain custody of her children. We see an example of this on page 93. Let's go somewhere and spend the night. Baton Rouge, New Orleans- anywhere, Grant asks. I can't, My Babies. This sentence alone describes the turmoil she is going through with her own threatening aspects and how it effects Grant's choices. I think the book is an intriguing novel and surfaced important issues dealt with in society. Religion, racism, and many other articles of today are just a few. But, Grant is a complex character and can be depicted thoroughly. His education holds him

Through teaching Jefferson, Grant realizes that he had falsely attributed self-worth to things such as education and that there was much more to a human than his original understanding and he recognizes this when he says “My eyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life.” (Gaines, 2002, p. 225”). Indeed it was Jefferson that taught him that redemption belongs to everyone and that his duty to his community is worth much more than he initially ascribed to it. It is clear that Grant learnt from Jefferson as much as Jefferson learnt from Grant.