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Conviction In Faulkner's A Lesson Before Dying

749 Words3 Pages

A Lesson Before Dying highlights the events surrounding the conviction and eradication of an innocent man. Prearranged in deep south during the 1940s, the book ostentatiousness many of the common racial injustices of the era. Despite the fact the book chronicles the events ultimately leading to Jefferson’s eradication, it is really more about the way Jefferson’s conviction transformed and modified others. The book culminates with the electrocution of Jefferson, which was apperceived throughout the town. From the origination of the book the reader knows Jefferson has a ghost of a chance. Grant, the narrator of the book, recognizes this in the opening sentence “I was not there, yet I was there…. I did not hear the verdict, because I knew …show more content…

In the beginning, every character is cemented in some kind of emotional or life “rut” that prevents them from being content and productive. Grant is constantly mirthless with where he lives and what he is accomplishing. He does not consternation about how well he teaches his children or what transpires to them. At school, he is constantly irritated with the children and lashes out at them. Grant’s frustration has less to do with his students, and more to do with his frustration with the world. When Grant is first instructed to visit Jefferson, he is reluctant and resentful. Regardless, Grant does go and visit Jefferson, and over time the two men form a close gunk. Both Grant and Jefferson begin learning from each other, and Grant’s visits become more frequent with time. Jefferson helps Grant realize how good he has it in life, and that he should appreciate where he is and care about how he treats others. Grant vouchsafe Jefferson a radio to help him stay connected to the outside world. Although Grant was supposed to be the teacher, both men perk from the relationship. At one point, Grant says to Jefferson, “You’re more a man than I am Jefferson (225).” If it had not been for the impending date of execution, Grant would have shown no interest in helping Jefferson regain his pride and confidence and would have therefore never reciprocated

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In “A Lesson Before Dying”, there is a tension between how Grant sees himself and how others in his community see him. Grant has gone to a University and is now a teacher in the quarter where he grew up. To his community Grant is the most educated person in the quarter and is constantly being admired by them. Most of the admiration comes from Miss Emma in hopes that Grant can transform Jefferson into a man before he is executed. Miss Emma states, “I want the teacher visit my boy.

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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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Undoubtedly, Grant registers the unfairness and lack of justice. Even though this is the case, Grant still continues to help Jefferson become the man he

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He acts as a hog would because he became obsessed with the idea that he is not a human as his lawyer presented. The first of many visits was infuriating for both Grant and Jefferson. Grant, not wanting to be there in the first place, is annoyed that Jefferson is acting like an animal and not much progress is made. It takes four visits for Grant to understand that what he once thought of as an insurmountable task, is now quite realistic. On this fourth visit, Jefferson is contumacious, but a wall is broken, a milestone reached.

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Grant recognizes that there was "no hate in his face—but Lord, there was pain." Hearing Jefferson's request to "Tell—tell the chirren thank you for the pe-pecans," Grant starts "grinning like a fool," and he "[wants] to throw [his] arms around him and hug him," feeling "like someone who had just found religion" while "[squeezing] his hand with both of mine" (Gaines, 247). The author creates vivid imagery to portray a powerful moment of connection and

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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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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 did his best to teach Jefferson that he had worth and it paid off. “If I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Strab me like a hog? More erasing, then: Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs” (220). This quote demonstrates how Grant made a difference in Jefferson’s life and taught him to be a man of self worth.

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However, they must first get permission from Sheriff Sam Guidry. To do this, they ask Sheriff Guidry's brother-in-law Henri Pichot for help. The Sheriff gives Grant permission. When Grant is not there Miss Emma, Aunt Lou, and Reverend Ambrose also visit Jefferson. Grant and Jefferson form a close friendship.

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His original goal was to help Jefferson become a man, but through the process, Grant grows as well. At the beginning of the novel, Grant often takes out his frustrations in the wrong ways, one being his attitude toward his students. He was very cold with them and didn’t care about their feelings, often thinking about himself before he thought about them. This is portrayed when, after comparing his students to Jefferson and vividly explaining how he’s going to die, he thinks to himself, “I knew that Jefferson was her cousin, but I didn’t apologize for what I had said, nor did I show any sympathy for her crying. ‘Either leave the class or stop crying,’ I told her again.

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The historical fiction novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, features a falsely accused black man on death row in a small Cajun community during the late 1440s. Grant Wiggins, a college educated teacher of the black community, visits Jefferson in prison, an African American convicted of murder. During his trial, he was given a death sentence while referred as a hog. With the love of his godmother, Miss Emma, who sends Grant to teach him in proving himself a man, Jefferson receives the opportunity of representing his community as he dies. Tante Lou, a close friend of Miss Emma and Grant’s aunt, provides the assurance that Grant would prove Jefferson worthy a human.

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A Lesson Before Dying is a story about a young black man, named Jefferson, and a black school teacher, named Grant Wiggins, in Louisiana shortly after World War II. The young man was scheduled to be executed via electric chair for a crime he did not commit, thus making his only incorrect action being standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. The white jury that was a part of his trial did not recognize this because one of the outcomes of the incident was the death of a white man, and this time period was riddled with racial problems. Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, wanted Grant to try to make Jefferson mentally strong before he was put to death, and after lots of doubt and conflict from certain characters in the novel, Grant , along

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Grant has gone to a University and is now a teacher in the quarter where he grew up. To his community, Grant is the most educated person in the quarter and is constantly being admired by them. Most of the admiration comes from Miss Emma in hopes that Grant can transform Jefferson into a man before he is executed. Miss Emma states, “I want the teacher visit my boy. I want the teacher make him know he’s not a hog, he’s a man” (pg.

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Although Grant still did not like coming to visit Jefferson he starts to realize how these lessons are helping Jefferson become less broken and not as angry anymore. Grant feels helpless like he is a prisoner in his own life. If Vivian and the students were not there he would have probably left already and tried to start a new life. We all have those days when we do not like anything that is happening. Throughout the story,Vivian reminds Grant that he should face his problems and not leave like he is intending to, "You know you can't ...

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