What is a lesson? A lesson is something taught in a classroom right? Not necessarily, a lesson can be learned anywhere and any time in life. Whether it be when you’re a kid or on your death bed a lesson can be learned any place and anytime in somebody’s life. In Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying Jefferson, Grant Wiggons, and Tante Lou learn various lessons throughout the novel. Jefferson learns, with the help of Grant, that his life is worth something. When Grant first meets Jefferson after he is put in jail, Jefferson feels hopeless and that he is not worth anything. At first, Jefferson doesn’t know how to act or how to feel when visitors would come to the jail. The first time Grant and Jefferson’s Godmother, Miss Emma, come …show more content…
Although Grant had close relationships with others that does not mean he truly cared about what they wanted. When Tante Lou and Miss Emma first proposed the idea of Grant going to visit Jefferson his reaction was, “Now his Godmother wants me to visit him and make him know- prove to these white men that he’s not a hog, that he’s a man. I’m supposed to make him a man. Who am I? God?” (103). Grant is saying that this should not be his responsibility and he thinks it is unfair that he would be asked to do this. At this point, he is showing he does not care if it makes Jefferson have a better rest of his life and he does not care if Miss Emma is comforted in this time of tragedy. Earlier in the book Grant is talking to his girlfriend, Vivian and says, “I wish I could just run away from this place” (88). When he says this he is not thinking of anyone but himself. The reasons he wants to run away is because of things that would benefit him, not the love of his life, Vivian. In fact, at this point, he does not even mention Vivian coming with him. Instead of saying I wish we could run away, he says, I wish I could run away. Despite Grant’s attitude then by the end of the book, he is almost like a new