Grant Wiggins A Lesson Before Dying Analysis

Grant Wiggins, a fictional character from A Lesson Before Dying, once said, “But there is something greater than possessions-and that is love”(Gaines 225). Recently I took the time to get to know my Grandpa, Eugene “Gene” Shumate. From this interview, I learned more about my Grandpa than I ever had before. He told me about his family and what they did in their life, as well as his favorite memories, and I learned what his dreams and ambitions were. When the interview took place my Grandpa was eighty-four and had been recovering from multiple medical issues. Since we do not live close to each other, this was an experience that I will cherish for years. From this, I learned to cherish my loved ones while they are still here, just like Miss Emma

I will never forget the stories and memories that I learned about. Just like in A Lesson Before Dying where Grant learns more about himself through Jefferson, I learned more about myself and my family through my Grandpa. I learned about my Grandpa’s ambitions in life and what he didn’t like about his life and how he tried to change that. I realized that in order to succeed in life and to be happy with how it turns out I need to work hard to change my life and make it the way I want it to be. In A Lesson Before Dying Grant realizes that he needs to change his life in order to be happy with what he is doing. When he opens up to Jefferson he mentions how he, “could never be a hero. I teach, but I don’t like teaching.” and “you can do more than I can ever do. I have always done what they wanted me to do, teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Nothing else-nothing about dignity, nothing about identity, nothing about loving and caring.” (Gaines 194). He is saying how he has never tried to break society's hold on him. He never wanted to do what he wanted to do, he does what he does because it is expected of him. Instead of teaching what is most important in life, which is dignity, identity, loving, and caring, he teaches basic school principles. This causes him to feel like he is stuck in an endless cycle with his teaching. The kids end up just like the previous group and the cycle continues. This relates to my Grandpa’s life as he was drafted into the military, and he didn’t want to be in the military so he went to the local navy office and tried to get out of it. He learned that he couldn’t and he accepted that fact and did what was required of him. This parallels Grant’s struggle of being stuck in the same cycle as America just keeps going through the cycle of war. We get into a war and we force our male citizens to be a part of it when we don’t have enough men. I realized that if I don’t