Ethical Issues In A Lesson Before Dying

To Defy Racial Injustice

Did you know that African Americans, who are 12.6% of the U.S. population, currently account for 38.9% of all violent crime arrests nationwide? Critics charge that these statistics only prove the bias of a system where racism reigns, and where blacks are unfairly targeted by the police. (discoverthenetworks.org). A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines is about Jefferson, a young black man who is convicted of robbery and planned murder for a crime he did not commit. The story takes place in Bayonne, Louisiana in the 1940s where blacks were treated unfairly. When the judges find Jefferson guilty, Jefferson’s godmother, Ms. Emma, persuades Grant Wiggins, a black teacher, to make him a man. During Grant’s visits to make

Paul was a white officer, yet he didn’t treat Jefferson as if he was an animal, or something less. He also treated Grant fairly, and they had a special friendship with each other. Paul is an important character in the book, as he is the only non-racist white man in the book. Paul is sometimes forced to make Grant feel self-worth, as seen in this example in the book, “(Paul) knew it was unnecessary to search me and the food, but he knew he had to do it. He also knew that he should not even think about not doing it. It was as much his duty as wearing the uniform and carrying the cell keys. But you could see in his eyes that he was wondering why. Even when he was searching me and not looking in my face, I could tell by the light touches on my pockets that he didn’t want to do it. And with the food it was the same. The chief deputy sat behind the desk, watching everything. To him, this was how things were supposed to be and how they would be” (168). This quote demonstrates how Paul is forced to search Grant and Paul is embarrassed that he has to, yet he still has to. Paul was a white officer, yet he still respected Grant and Jefferson. At the end of the book after Jefferson’s execution Paul confronts Grant and gives the journal Jefferson wrote in. Paul then says, “Allow me to be your friend, Grant Wiggins. I don’t ever want to forget this day. I don’t ever want to forget him” (255). This quotation shows Paul defying the racial expectations of a white man. It’s not in it for white men to be friends with black people. Paul is changed by Jefferson and Grant, and he uses his dignity and makes his own decision of who to be friends. Going against white beliefs in a racist town, Paul uses his dignity of self-worth to himself and