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A Lesson Before Dying Themes

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May/16/2023 Gareth Richer Essay Assignment Mr. Lee The three books Fredric Douglass, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and A Lesson Before Dying all have problems with race and the search for freedom. This wouldn't be possible if the power of literacy, education, and knowledge wasn't a huge drive for the characters. The three themes gave the characters the ability to expose new ideas when they learn to read and write, the ability to find their sense of humanity and to expose themself to the same reality but with a deeper meaning. The power of literacy is a strong theme throughout not only the three books but also African American history. In the book A lesson before dying the main character Grant Wiggins struggles to come to terms with his …show more content…

This is seen In a Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass An American Slave when Fredrick “...went to live with Mr. and Mrs Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe to teach a slave to become educated.”(Douglass 78) With Fredrick education is seen as a way for slaves to gain knowledge and understanding, which can help them to escape from slavery. This is also seen the same way in A Lesson Before Dying. Education is the resistance against corruption. It's seen to resist the effects of racism through the efforts of Grant Wiggins and teaching him how to read and write brings an understanding of his worth as a human. This is to learn about the struggles of black history and population and to recognize their struggles and achievements. In the book their eyes were watching god education is described as a means of power and to find themselves for the main character Janie. She is forced to learn and value education by Nanny who wants her to marry a man who can provide but instead finds education through her love and her own life experiences. She learns to trust her instincts and desires. For Janie she “saw …show more content…

It is seen as a means of empowerment, and self-discovery. In the book A Lesson Before Dying, the power of knowledge is seen in the character Jefferson in the book, who is transformed from a broken and defeated hog into a racial symbol of hope through the power of knowledge. By reading books and engaging with the world around him Jefferson can rise above his limits of being a hog and become a symbol of hope for the entire plantation and black community. The same aspect is also seen in Fredrick Douglass, where knowledge is portrayed as a powerful tool for freedom and resistance. He shows how important the power of knowledge is despite his troubles with education for slaves. Douglass became aware of the full extent of slavery and the system allowing him to escape. The quote "I have often wished for a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own. anything, no matter what, to get rid of thinking! it was the everlasting thinking of condition that tormented me,"(Douglass 68) shows the mental tool slavery takes on the enslaved, and the self-awareness and knowledge of the enslavement. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, knowledge is portrayed as a source of empowerment and freedom for the main character, Janie. It is portrayed as a tool for self-discovery and personal

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