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A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines

1584 Words7 Pages

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

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Marcos Nogueira Wrt 110 Dr.Ted Wojtasik November 25, 2015 A Lesson Before Dying Summary “A lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines’s fifth adult novel, is the Louisiana write’s most compelling work to date. Gaines worked on this book for almost ten years, doing most of the writing in San Francisco during the summer months between stints as professor on the English Facult at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and engagementelsewhere.” Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. NY: Knopf, 1993.

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There is an immense change in the way Grant acts from the beginning of the book to the end. In the early part of the book Grant was dreading having to go and talk to Jefferson. He really felt as though Jefferson was already too far gone to be convinced that he was actually a man. For the first few visits Grant was accompanied by Miss Emma to the jail to see Jefferson. Which was really the only reason Grant kept going to see Jefferson.

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This is because he believes that Jefferson got himself into that situation. Having been pushed to help bring justice for Jefferson, Grant says, “ And I teach 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 13). In Grant’s view, this instance is none of his business. Therefore, he doesn’t believe that he should help Jefferson.

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Grant thought it was a waste of time to try helping him because Jefferson was going to be executed and Jefferson was very stubborn and unwilling to cooperate. The only reason Geant was helping was because his aunt Tante Lou made him help Miss Emma make Jefferson into a man since Jefferson was called a hog by his defence attorney and Miss Emma wanted Jefferson to die a man. Jefferson feels as if he is not in control of his life. . Grant and Jefferson 's relationship evolves over time. At first Jefferson doesn’t speak to anyone while he has visitors, not even Miss Emma.

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In the novel A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines Grant finds redemption by helping Jefferson, Standing up for what he believes in and changing his view on life. Grant achieves redemption by helping Jefferson become a man before he dies by helping Jefferson become a man before he dies by asking questions about his wellbeing and overall health. When Grant goes and visits

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Seemingly, it was not straightforward to get Grant the privilege of speaking to Jefferson in his jail cell. Miss Emma confronted Henri Pichot, pleading to give allow Grant to see Jefferson. Henri denied all requests from Miss Emma at first, but she did not take no for an answer (Gaines 22, 23). Emma persuaded Henri by telling him all the things he has done for the family, Henri finally agreed to get Grant a way to speak to Jefferson. Never giving up can also change the lives of others, which can be seen when Miss Emma visits Jefferson.

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Two literary terms used throughout this novel are character motivation and diction. In conclusion, A Lesson Before Dying is an amazing novel that explores the definition of

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He [Grant] also finds his own freedom extremely limited, if it indeed exists at all, and he sees the future of his students to be lacking in any promise of advancement.” It is evident that Auger is correct that Jefferson and grant have a similar change within their view in themselves and society, and the perception that Grant is restricted in his freedoms. Grant and Jefferson both go through changes in their personality and how they view their life from realizing and learning what life is really about. Grant, previous to learning more about life, was very hard on his children at school. The children were scared of Grant, to the point that they would cry for doing something wrong.

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In the beginning jefferson is very selfish and quite. WHen he is given the radio he doesn't really say thank you so he is not thankful. But as time passes and Grant visits him more he improves and starts to take value of things. One day when grant went to visit jefferson he brought some pecans that he had gathered from the children in his class.

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Responsibilities define a human. From cleaning a house to raising a child, responsibilities give people a purpose, and therefore having these responsibilities affect one’s behavior, personality, relationships, and happiness. In the fiction, “A Lesson Before Dying,” Jefferson and Grant are both afflicted by heavy responsibilities, and the actions they take to approach these responsibilities drastically affect their character. Jefferson is faced with the duty to die as a man for his godmother, and eventually accepts it, and both him and his godmother end their story happily. On the other hand, Grant is given the task of making Jefferson come to terms with his fate, and throughout the entirety of the story, he tries to avoid the task and forget everything related to it, which leads to broken relationships and an unhappy ending for Grant.

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This is shown throughout the novel by showing that in the beginning of the novel, Grant wants nothing to do with Jefferson and his situation. As the book continues, he realizes that Jefferson is a human too and that he needs to realize how good he has it compared to some people. In the beginning of A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins struggles with accepting his responsibilities. This is shown in multiple examples. The two examples used in this paper were when Grant avoids all of his responsibilities and does not want anything to do with Jefferson.

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“Words—so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them” (Pr daily). In the novel A Lesson Before Dying the author Ernest J. Gaines portrays the damage that words can do to a person, as well as the redemption they can bring upon someone. In the novel, a young man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. His defense lawyer claims that he is nothing more than a hog, which negatively impacts his self-esteem. His aunt, Miss Emma, sends a teacher, Grant Wiggins, to encourage him before his death.

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When his godmother, Miss Emma learns of this, Grant begins to visit Jefferson in prison to make him a man. The importance of dignity is shown through the fact that Jefferson becomes a man through his own contemplation of life’s meaning and the actions of Grant. Jefferson becomes a man in part

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1097 Words | 5 Pages

Grant’s girlfriend, Vivian, provides the support he needs to keep him from eluding his problems. Women in this novel play an influential part as a bridge to success in men’s lives, as Tante Lou and Vivian secure Grant 's role in the community, and as Miss Emma encourages Jefferson to die as a man. Even as Jefferson doubts the existing love for him, Miss Emma remains an influence in making him a man by going to many extents. From start to finish, she had always been the strong will who wanted the wellbeing of her godson. Knowing that the fate of her son was execution, she refused to let him die as a hog.

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In the beginning of the novel, Aunt Lou and her best friend Miss Emma, ask Grant to turn Jefferson, her godson, into a man before his execution. Grant is unhappy with his own life, and feels he has nothing to offer Jefferson, so he answers her by saying, “Jefferson’s dead.” Although Grant is a college graduate and teacher, he still lives in the same house with his Aunt Emma, on the same small plantation where she raised him. In addition, he lives day to day, doing the same thing over and over. For example, he teaches all grades in the same one room black church/school he attended.

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