In 1993, author Ernest J. Gaines published the novel A Lesson Before Dying , an eye-opening diminutive story about a young black professor, pressured into helping an innocent man on death row by his Aunt and neighbor, Ms. Emma, grow more aware of his surroundings. Throughout the story, Grant Wiggins, the main character and narrator of the novel, struggles to help Jefferson in his journey to develop into a man before he dies, but the pair gradually grow connected as Jefferson’s death date draws near.
In the novel, Grant and Jefferson’s relationship seems to remain static, with no real progress being made until the end. But if the reader looks closely and reads between the lines, they can see that it’s mostly Grant who cultivates and changes from being in contact with Jefferson. Initially, Grant is a cynical teacher who views people from his hometown as mindless religious sheep following the orders of the white …show more content…
You can see this by the way he agrees to eat Ms. Emma’s gumbo, write in Grant’s gifted notepad, and finally, saunter to his own death standing straight and stoic. He too, begins to idolize his teacher as a great man and good friend, learning no academic lessons, but going through several emotions only to come out knowing he is going to die, making peace with it, and making sure he is seen as a respectable human who deserves as much attention and consideration as anybody else.
In conclusion, both Grant and Jefferson gained positively from their relationship, learning that self-worth isn’t to be measured by how educated you are or the color of your pigment, but by the company you keep and how your own reliance and confidence in yourself. Just because somebody is white or black doesn’t make them any less of what they are, human. In the end, both walked away from this and finished the story as
In the novel, Grant and Jefferson’s relationship seems to remain static, with no real progress being made until the end. But if the reader looks closely and reads between the lines, they can see that it’s mostly Grant who cultivates and changes from being in contact with Jefferson. Initially, Grant is a cynical teacher who views people from his hometown as mindless religious sheep following the orders of the white …show more content…
You can see this by the way he agrees to eat Ms. Emma’s gumbo, write in Grant’s gifted notepad, and finally, saunter to his own death standing straight and stoic. He too, begins to idolize his teacher as a great man and good friend, learning no academic lessons, but going through several emotions only to come out knowing he is going to die, making peace with it, and making sure he is seen as a respectable human who deserves as much attention and consideration as anybody else.
In conclusion, both Grant and Jefferson gained positively from their relationship, learning that self-worth isn’t to be measured by how educated you are or the color of your pigment, but by the company you keep and how your own reliance and confidence in yourself. Just because somebody is white or black doesn’t make them any less of what they are, human. In the end, both walked away from this and finished the story as