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Character Analysis: A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines

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In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, the ladies have an imperative and strong part. They hold the role of being foundations of the community and family. Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Vivian are the women that surround Grant. They are all spark plugs for Grant’s change of attitude of bitterness. Miss Emma, Jefferson's godmother parent, and Tante Lou, Grant's aunt, were devoted to Grant helping Jefferson since they saw how similar the two are. Which happened to be genuine in light of the fact that they could benefit from each other. Grant’s girlfriend, Vivian strongly affects him also. She plays his second inner voice and supporter. The women of the novel, play a key part in the transformation of Jefferson and Grant, who begin …show more content…

Vivian is a teacher like Grant. Her relationship with Grant is not simple, she is amidst a separation and needs to see it through to have remaining custody of her children. Grant's desires are to escape their community with expectations of something better yet Vivian's circumstance keeps him back, PAGE 93. Vivian is one of the two vital individuals throughout Grant's life that assist him progress as a person. She goes about as somewhat as his conscience. Grant, all through the novel, would begin losing faith and talking bleak, and at those circumstances, Vivian will help him to remember his sense of duty regarding his students, “We're teachers, and we have a commitment” (4 65-71). At the point when Vivian stands firm and rejects Grant's offer in escaping the town, he does not endeavor to alter her opinion. This demonstrates he needs her to reject him and influence him to remain. She perceives that Grant is committed to his community, regardless of whether he is not willing to let it be known. Grant does not get irate or frantic at Vivian, he tunes in to her recommendation. Vivian also plays a role in her society. She is not as candid as Miss Emma or Tante Lou but she is still a strong woman. Vivian gives her students hope for the future by building their confidence and helping them end up plainly contributing individuals of the community. Vivian's effect on Grant enabled him to see …show more content…

Tante Lou and Miss Emma demonstrate a considerable measure of compassion to Grant and Jefferson when they cook for them and push them on the correct tracks. Their bothering and encouraging helped Grant change his perspective and Jefferson walk to the electric chair as a man. Vivian helped Grant see that he needed to contribute in the difference of the society he lives in. He wanted to have an effect in the lives of the kids and grown-ups of the town. His first contribution to making a difference is Jefferson and without the help of Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Vivian it would not have been possible for

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Grant Wiggins and Jefferson are protagonists. Their individual survivals depend on their mutual support. It’s Jefferson's story, but it is narrated by Grant. Miss Emma and her friend, Tante Lou, are inseparable. Sometimes they seem too close that it is hard to tell which one is speaking.

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Award's sweetheart, Vivian, further urges him to educate

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In the book, “A lesson before dying”, by Ernest J. Gaines tells a story that is set during late 1940’s. The story is focused on the interaction between Jefferson, a young and barley literate African American man, who is sentenced to death for an unjust crime, and Grant Wiggins, a teacher that wants to help Jefferson, but doesn’t know how. The story is told through the eyes of Wiggins. The main focus in this book was Grant and Jefferson’s relationship to transform each man throughout the story and teach each a lesson about human dignity. The most important character is Jefferson’s defense attorney, he was the reason that let Jefferson lose his dignity and self respect.

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Since the beginning of time there’s always been some form of struggle to break away from the grasp of someone powerful and someone who strives for power between those of mankind. This is evident all throughout history in society, even during the 1940s when this novel, A Lesson Before Dying takes place. Grant Wiggins and Sheriff Sam Guidry are prime examples of two characters that struggle to separate themselves from power and strive for power and are determined to keep themselves in power respectively. Grant is the main character of the novel with quite the cynical and depressing outlook on the South, which is the place he was born and raised. He gained this attitude of cynicism from his mentor Matthew Antoine, who felt very intense feelings

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She raised him to be the person he is, and now he will not even talk to her. This was making Miss Emma extremely unhappy “she was ready to cry” (72), and Jefferson did not care. He is unable to maintain a healthy relationship. It is not only Miss Emma that Jefferson has a bad relationship with, but also with Grant. Grant thinks these visits are pointless and wants to know if Jefferson thinks the same.

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In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines, Grant is a main character that has a lot of influence over the people in his community. Some might even consider him a hero. I believe that Grant is a hero because he helps Jefferson become a man, changes himself for the better, and wants to continue changing the community. Over the course of the novel, Grant helps Jefferson become the man that he needs to be in order to walk to his death with honor. When Grant first begrudgingly went to visit Jefferson in prison Jefferson was in a really low state.

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As Tante Lou keeps on annoying Grant to visit Jefferson; he gets aggravated. Reaching his boiling point after being vexed by Tante Lou, Grant exclaims, “ He wants me to feel

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Emma and Grant. After learning to open back up to his friends and family, he still gives them disrespect. A few pages after Jefferson talks to Grant, Ms. Emma comes to have a conversation with him. After she asks Jefferson how he is feeling, he doesn’t even respond or act like she’s there(pg 136), showing how much Jefferson in entrenched into the idea of not finding value in himself. Furthermore, on page 130, while Jefferson talks up to Grant, he tries to anger him by insulting his girlfriend and testing his patience.

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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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At the school, Grant is very verbally abusive to the children and ridicules them every chance he gets. Meanwhile, Jefferson just spends every day sitting quietly in his cell, with no emotion or ambition to do anything else. The contrast of the jail and the church contributes to the work by demonstrating the different lifestyles of the two men once Jefferson is thrown in jail. Grant is at first extremely opposed to trying to teach and reach out to Jefferson. He does not want anything to do with it.

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The main conflict of the story is Grant convincing Jefferson that he is truly a man and that there is hope in the world. After Jefferson’s sentence is set, Jefferson doesn’t have hope for the world and thinks that he going to die anyways, so why care. Grant is teaching him that he can help others and that there is hope in the world and in the future. So, Grant is using character motivation to help Jefferson throughout the entire novel. The other literary term, diction, is repetition of a word to show its importance.

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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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Grant realized the potential in Jefferson and himself. This discovery of being able to transform the people around him and himself drove him to become more engaged and empathetic in helping Jefferson. Afterward, when Grant visits Jefferson after giving him the radio, he tries to talk to him. He asks Jefferson if he would meet with Miss Emma and Reverend Ambrose, and Jefferson agrees. However, when the conversation comes to a stop, Grant finally says,

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Mother of Education Some children are not as fortunate to be given wonderful lives like their peers. Furthermore, the mother and father of every little boy and little girl do not always set the best examples. In “The Lesson”, Miss Moore seeks to educate the children of the neighborhood. She takes them to a store in town, trying to help them better understand the issues with income inequality. Confidence, intelligence, and passion-- these are all qualities that Miss Moore, a motherly figure, exhibits while impacting the children 's education.

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Miss Emma and Tante Lou want Jefferson to die not like a hog but like a man. They persuade Grant, a teacher, to use his influence to convince Jefferson that he is indeed a man, and his life is more valuable than that of a hog. During an exchange with Grant in the kitchen, Miss Emma and Tante Lou confront Grant about what they want. The author illustrates the blunt approach the two women take as they discuss the matter with Grant:

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