What Is The Connection Between Grant And Jefferson In A Lesson Before Dying

Grant is constantly having an eternal battle within himself on whether or not he is willing to take action against the white despotism. When Jefferson 's case is first brought up to Grant by Miss Emma and his aunt, he responds by saying, “Yes, I’m the teacher...And I teach what the white folks around here tell me to teach—reading, writing, and ’rithmetic. They never told me how to keep a black boy out of a liquor store" (Gaines ch 2). His whole education has revolved around the white system and what they want him to know and do. He feels that because he has been taught by the white-American

In A Lesson Before Dying by author Ernest J Gaines, Grant is the protagonist who is trying to do the right thing for his people. Grant is in a very turbulent situation, having to make Jefferson into a “man” by the time he is executed. This is the central plot of the story, but not the main themes and ideas of it. Grant is struggling to help Jefferson because he sees generations of injustice through him. “’We got our first load of wood last week,’ [Grant] told him. ‘Nothing changes,’ he said.” (Gaines, 53). The response Grant’s teacher gives him has a deeper meaning: he as Grants’ teacher failed to change the injustice and racism and Grant is in the same situation. “Nothing changes”, but Grant does not give up for the sake of Jefferson, his people, and most importantly, himself. At one point, Grant actually reveals that “it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind. So, he,

At the end of the book, Jefferson was executed, but he died a man. He grew from believing he was nothing more than some old hog, to walking in a straight line with his head held high when he died. Grant didn’t seem much different at the end than he was at the beginning. He didn’t have anything to show for any progress he might have made while Jefferson not only had written proof, but many people were there to bear witness to how much of a man he truly

It is the easiest thing to infer that Jefferson didn’t like the idea of staying confined in a prison cell for a period of time, right before being electrocuted to death. However, a reader might not pick up on the concept that Jefferson shouldn’t be doing this, because he is innocent. The only reason he is locked up and put on death sentence is because of racial prejudice. The white men of the courtroom/jury had all voted him guilty just because his skin had a black pigment to it. After Jefferson and the lawyer representing his view had clearly explained that he was not guilty, the verdict was returned, stating that Jefferson was “guilty of robbery and murder in the first degree” (Gaines 8).

In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, a young African American man named Jefferson is wrongly convicted of a triple homicide he did not commit. Throughout the story we see Jefferson growing as a man with the help of the main character Grant Wiggins. During their meetings we learn how humans control their destiny through the decisions and choices they make.

Grant holds grudges against multiple people, but having to teach someone a lesson before they die is a great way to cause change. “Do you know what happened today, honey?” Grant tells Vivian about his time with Jefferson after the bar fight, this question helps show his change towards betterness (207). Grant had no intention of telling people what occurred during his day at the beginning of the book, but he became more open and kinder from his change. Grant’s change starts, not from his first visits, but his latter visits where Jefferson started to actually talk to Grant. Jefferson’s views on life made Grant take a larger look at the world and to start to accept people for who they are and how they act. Before Grant saw the world as a completely cruel world, that was always out to get him and his people, but with Jefferson, he realized that people were still kind to him as well. Grant has swung in his mood emphasizing how temperamental he is, but these mood swings only signal the large chain of his change towards a more caring person. He shows more displays of expression and is more open about himself. Grants change from Jefferson truly starts from his meetings and his displays of

He also could not stand the fact that he could not live the life he wants with his lover. Because of this, he wants to “leave” (29). After a few visits with Jefferson, he realizes he can’t leave because he has a very important duty “ to change everything” that has happen since slavery and give his aunt and the women in the south “something to hold on to” (167&169). Grant has to change the tradition of black men leaving their family. This tradition left many generations of broken homes and families.

The defense attorney states “Gentlemen of the jury...Look at the shape of his skull, this face as flat as the palm of my hand-look deep at those eyes. Do you see a modicum of intelligence?” (Gaines 7). In the quote the attorney is trying to use Jefferson’s race as a means of the jury acquitting him, saying that his race make him lack the cognitive ability to know right from wrong. This is the very systematic racism that Grant despises and see to be so evident in his society. Later the lawyer elaborates saying “What justice would there be to take his life? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as is” (Gaines 8). In the text the lawyer is reiterating himself to the jury insulting Jefferson’s intelligence solely based on race even comparing him to a hog which later psychologically scars

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

The Jim Crow Era was peak time for segregation causing Jefferson’s journey in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines to open up the eyes of many, no matter what one’s skin color is, by showing what it means to die as a hero even when seen as the villain. Grant is to make Jefferson a man before he dies by showing him the truths about religion, race, and the United States justice system. Jefferson also teaches Grant a few things about life, creating a unique bond between the two.

Of law, education and religion, one had to empower Jefferson and Grant. The law was clearly outside their realm of influence. However, education opened the door for Jefferson and Grant to share dialogue and to explore who they were and how they could be empowered. It was religion, their search for a greater meaning and a higher power, which allowed them to begin to think not of what white men thought of them, but rather what God and what they thought of themselves. With this new way of thinking, they forged a bond and both began to understand the simple heroic act of resistance in defying the expectation of white society that they were members of a lesser race " ‘Do you know what a myth is, Jefferson?’ I asked him. ‘A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they are better than anyone else on earth—and that’s a myth. The last thing they ever want is to see a black man stand, and think and show that common humanity that is in us all. It would destroy their myth’ " (192).

In addition,Grants attitude begins to change after a few visit at the the cell with jefferson. Jefferson opened up to Grant about how he never had owned a radio or ate a bowl of ice cream in his life. Grant stated “I saw a slight smile come to his face, and it was not a bitter smile. Not bitter at all”. This action was a turning point for Grant. Jefferson’s thoughts revived Grants emotions and helped him see the actual person he was. Grant learned how to become educated and think like a man, rather than being negative all the time. He figured out that he wasn’t just accomplishing a good for Jefferson, but teaching his students that as an African American, you shouldn’t allow the white take control nor advantage of you.

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

Jefferson is a peculiar character in that the story is centred on his existence and, although his thoughts and opinions are seldom expressed, the lessons he learnt are completely unambiguous. As the tragic story goes, he is a very young black man unjustly condemned to death for a crime he did not commit. Furthermore, he is dehumanized in his defence when he is called a “hog” and this detrimentally affects his self esteem throughout a significant portion of the novel. However, this melancholic situation he is thrust into and his initial reaction to it is contrasted against his final moment which unashamedly reveals just how much he has learnt in his incarceration period. Jefferson, through the guidance of Grant, learns about the notion of dignity, a peculiarity that drives people towards the pinnacle of human

The setting of the novel is a rural plantation in Louisiana in the Deep South. Most of the story takes place on Henri Pichot’s plantation. He is a wealthy influential man in Bayonne who can influence many decisions. Being set in the 1940’s before civil rights, the whites reigned supreme, and the blacks were still seen as inferior. Gaines uses characters such as Sheriff Guidry, Henri Pichot, and Mr. Joseph Morgan to demonstrate the white mentality towards African Americans (Poston A1). The white mentality causes many negative feelings. Folks says, “Part of Grant’s bitterness stems from his negative feelings about the black population in his hometown” (Folks B1). Grant is always mad and discouraged by the vicious cycle the blacks are put through. “The reader is able to gain insight into Grant’s thoughts and frustrations through his conversations with Vivian, his girlfriend. He feels trapped in his present situation” (Poston A1).