Man sees his own life in the eyes of the dying. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Mr. Ernest Gaines novel, A Lesson before Dying. The narrator, Grant Wiggins, battles the conflict within himself while trying to motivate a death row inmate. Using dialogue within this character driven story, Mr. Gaines highlights an old struggle between a man wanting to do good in the world, and at the same time feeling inferior for the task. There are three modes of conversation I wish to utilize to prove my point. The first is that between Grant and the women in his life- Aunt Louise and Vivian. The second is that between himself and the convict, Jefferson. The last is that between the Reverend Ambrose and Grant. Grant was given life by his aunt Louise,
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What the Gumbo monologue was to Jefferson, the Reverend’s chastisement is to Grant. It is an exceptionally well written piece of speech. Gaines (1993) highlights Grant’s stubbornness by having him say, “I will never tell another lie.” Grant says this in response to Reverend Ambrose’s insistence that he tell Jefferson that Heaven is real, so that Emma can die peacefully. Grant is not willing to bear the suffering of lying; he does not wish to carry somebody else’s cross. Reverend Ambrose then tells Grant that the way to be a man is to bear other’s burdens. “They sent you to school to relieve pain, to relieve hurt- and if you have to lie to do it, then you do it (Gaines, 218).” In this sentence someone finally tells Grant the truth he has been running away from his entire life; he cannot live for himself in the occupation he chose. His aunt lied about her own aches and pains (Gaines, 218) so that he could go to college guilt free. Gaines (1993) through Ambrose tells Grant it’s finally time to pay the piper, “…I owe her and all the others every ounce of my being. And you do too.” It takes a village to raise a child, and that’s what the women sacrificed themselves for, so Grant could make future Grants. Grant is told what nobody else has had the audacity to tell him, “You can’t change the world all at once, but you can shave it down.” Later, he goes to the jail and tells Jefferson that his eyes had …show more content…
This is what Grant learns, and what the audience is taught by people asking questions they themselves never would have asked. Mr. Gaines has left his audience with a feeling of purpose for their life, setting Jefferson up as the image to live up to. There is enough material for another essay to talk about how A Lesson before Dying and The Last Temptation of Christ are the same story, but our discussion will be ended here. For every selfish person that wouldn’t read the dialogues of Christ, Gaines has left a worthy replacement. As Mr. Getschow (2013) wrote about dialogue, “It conveys information subtly, without interrupting the flow of the story’s action.” This is what Mr. Gaines achieves with his
What the Gumbo monologue was to Jefferson, the Reverend’s chastisement is to Grant. It is an exceptionally well written piece of speech. Gaines (1993) highlights Grant’s stubbornness by having him say, “I will never tell another lie.” Grant says this in response to Reverend Ambrose’s insistence that he tell Jefferson that Heaven is real, so that Emma can die peacefully. Grant is not willing to bear the suffering of lying; he does not wish to carry somebody else’s cross. Reverend Ambrose then tells Grant that the way to be a man is to bear other’s burdens. “They sent you to school to relieve pain, to relieve hurt- and if you have to lie to do it, then you do it (Gaines, 218).” In this sentence someone finally tells Grant the truth he has been running away from his entire life; he cannot live for himself in the occupation he chose. His aunt lied about her own aches and pains (Gaines, 218) so that he could go to college guilt free. Gaines (1993) through Ambrose tells Grant it’s finally time to pay the piper, “…I owe her and all the others every ounce of my being. And you do too.” It takes a village to raise a child, and that’s what the women sacrificed themselves for, so Grant could make future Grants. Grant is told what nobody else has had the audacity to tell him, “You can’t change the world all at once, but you can shave it down.” Later, he goes to the jail and tells Jefferson that his eyes had …show more content…
This is what Grant learns, and what the audience is taught by people asking questions they themselves never would have asked. Mr. Gaines has left his audience with a feeling of purpose for their life, setting Jefferson up as the image to live up to. There is enough material for another essay to talk about how A Lesson before Dying and The Last Temptation of Christ are the same story, but our discussion will be ended here. For every selfish person that wouldn’t read the dialogues of Christ, Gaines has left a worthy replacement. As Mr. Getschow (2013) wrote about dialogue, “It conveys information subtly, without interrupting the flow of the story’s action.” This is what Mr. Gaines achieves with his