Symbolism in A Lesson Before Dying is important in understanding the lives of the African Americans like Grant and Jefferson in this story. Jefferson’s diary is one of the symbols in this story. The diary represents Jefferson’s struggles in life and the treatment that he endures every day. Jefferson has never had a wonderful life, always treated like he was nothing, but when he is in jail he experiences love and people who care about him. He tells the story of who he is and being in jail gives him time for him to learn who he is, not the white’s perspective of him. The reader can see the growth of Jefferson as a man in the diary because he learns new things every day and learns to have hope and to not be scared and submissive to the white people.
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However, Jefferson is not afraid of the electric chair anymore, which also shows the growth of Jefferson that he will not be what the White’s want him to be, scared and inferior. He stands up to the White’s system of racial segregation by not backing down and giving the White’s what they want. Finally, the Christmas tree in the Children’s Christmas Concert represents Jefferson’s life and struggles. The pine tree was “not a great tree---it was not tall, not blessed with great limbs---but it was pine, and it was the most beautiful of all the Christmas trees. The little pine tree even took a character of its own, it was so happy to be here” (Gaines 148). The Christmas tree symbolizes Jefferson because it shows how even though Jefferson was not as educated as Grant or did not have a great life or make the greatest decisions he was beautiful in his own way. He is stronger than the other African Americans because he is himself and learns to not think that he is an animal compared to the white men. Hence, these symbols show how Africans Americans are not different than white people and are shown to be equal to the white …show more content…
Gaines shows us that race does not define who you are, what your capabilities are, or how you should be treated. We should learn from Ernest Gaines to not judge people by their looks or race. Race does not and should not matter because we all are unique and should treat each other as equals. Everyone is different and everyone has different qualities and strengths which make everyone so unique. If we were all the same ethnicities, life would be boring and we would not learn new things about different cultures and their lifestyle. Hence, we as a society should not judge each other by their ethnicity and should embrace different cultures in order to enhance our diversity and
However, Jefferson is not afraid of the electric chair anymore, which also shows the growth of Jefferson that he will not be what the White’s want him to be, scared and inferior. He stands up to the White’s system of racial segregation by not backing down and giving the White’s what they want. Finally, the Christmas tree in the Children’s Christmas Concert represents Jefferson’s life and struggles. The pine tree was “not a great tree---it was not tall, not blessed with great limbs---but it was pine, and it was the most beautiful of all the Christmas trees. The little pine tree even took a character of its own, it was so happy to be here” (Gaines 148). The Christmas tree symbolizes Jefferson because it shows how even though Jefferson was not as educated as Grant or did not have a great life or make the greatest decisions he was beautiful in his own way. He is stronger than the other African Americans because he is himself and learns to not think that he is an animal compared to the white men. Hence, these symbols show how Africans Americans are not different than white people and are shown to be equal to the white …show more content…
Gaines shows us that race does not define who you are, what your capabilities are, or how you should be treated. We should learn from Ernest Gaines to not judge people by their looks or race. Race does not and should not matter because we all are unique and should treat each other as equals. Everyone is different and everyone has different qualities and strengths which make everyone so unique. If we were all the same ethnicities, life would be boring and we would not learn new things about different cultures and their lifestyle. Hence, we as a society should not judge each other by their ethnicity and should embrace different cultures in order to enhance our diversity and