ipl-logo

Jefferson's Death In A Lesson Before Dying

736 Words3 Pages

Can you grow as a person when you know your fate? A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines is focused on the unfair treatments of blacks and the growth of characters, one character, in particular, is treated the most unfairly and grows the most. Jefferson is tried and sentenced to execution because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being black. The majority of the book takes place in-between his trial and his execution date. During Jefferson's time in jail, he begins to understand and realize that he isn't a hog that is being slaughtered, he is worth more than what the white folks are telling him he is worth, and that he isn't a foolish boy but a man, which makes him the strongest at his own execution. In the beginning of the book, Jefferson is convinced that he is a hog that is being fattened up for slaughter. He refuses to believe anything else, no matter who tells him. "'Youmans dont stay in no stall like this im a old hog they fattening up to kill.'" (83.) Jefferson has the idea in his head …show more content…

He believes he is property or a thing that white people get to own. “‘Do you see a man sitting here?… No, gentlemen, this skull here holds no plans… A thing to hold the handle of a plow, a thing to load your bales of cotton.’” (7.) Jefferson took those words, that his defense attorney said, to heart. It isn't shown that he believes otherwise until his diary entry at the end of the book. “good by mr wiggins tell them im strong… sincely jefferson.” (234.) He takes a while to believe what Grant has been saying because he was always told by so many white folks that he wasn't good enough. When Grant comes along and tells him that he's better than what the white folks are saying. It messes with him, and he doesn't know how to comprehend what he is being told, but he does eventually begins to understand and believe Grants

Show More
Related
495 Words | 2 Pages

Our third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, had great intentions when he was elected into the presidency. The actions that took place during his eight years in office reflect the principles that Jefferson believed in, and that is what he wanted to achieve. One of Jefferson’s beliefs was having an agricultural-based economy and life, rather than commerce and federal power. “He believed a person who owned a farm and worked the land would be economically independent, and that independence would develop and preserve wisdom, self-control, courage, and fortitude.

Read More
566 Words | 3 Pages

Jefferson is innocent, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a significant difference, because it shows how racism affected people’s lives. A man was killed because he was black, and they did not even take the time to go back and investigate the scene to reassure his guilt. Gray 2

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

Jefferson is known for his crucial role in the birth of the Declaration of Independence, and Banneker uses his own words against him. Jefferson is accused of “clearly seeing the injustices of a state of slavery” and having “apprehensions of the horrors of its condition.” A man of such values and a “valuable doctrine, which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeeding ages,” could surely not be such a hypocrite to his own words,

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

Eventually Miss Emma wasn 't able to visit Jefferson with Grant because she had fallen ill. However despite Grants contemplation, he continued to go and visit Jefferson. One of the last times that Grant visits Jefferson he notices that Jefferson had been writing in a journal when he sat down to read it he saw that Jefferson had written “If I ain 't nothing but a hog, how come they just don 't knock me in the head like a hog? Stab me like a hog?...

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

In Ernest Gaines’ novel, A Lesson Before Dying, the author uses a third person point of view to assess the issue of racial injustice in the South during the 1940’s. Grant understands that justice is evaluated unfairly and knows that it does not favor the poor and uneducated black man. Due to Grant’s ability to be able to understand others, he successfully learns how to bring justice, while assisting Jefferson. This presents the audience the significance of the novel as a whole, embracing responsibility and facing injustice. Grant feels as if he shouldn’t feel obligated or pressured to help bring justice to Jefferson.

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

Rotting in a cell. Counting down the days. Trying to learn how to be a man before the big day. In the book “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines: Grant Wiggins a school teacher tries to help a falsely convicted black man named Jefferson. During this time Grant release what can do to not only change Jefferson but change himself as well and he achieves redemption.

Read More
670 Words | 3 Pages

A Lesson Before Dying: An Analysis of the Definition of Manhood A Lesson Before Dying is a historical novel written by Ernest J. Gaines. The novel is set in the late 1940s on a plantation in Louisiana. A young, black man known as Jefferson is wrongly convicted for murdering two white men. The main character is Grant Wiggins, a teacher at a church school. Grant is being forced by Jefferson’s Godmother, Miss Emma, to convince Jefferson that he is a man.

Read More
1214 Words | 5 Pages

Jefferson was quickly sentenced guilty after being the only man left at a crime scene. After hearing the lawyer say that Jefferson was a hog, Miss Emma, who was Jeffersons godmother, needed to make sure that he knew he was dying a man, not a hog. Jefferson had taken these words to heart and it had not only hurt Jefferson but the African American society. It attacked their intelligence. The book teaches from a different perspective, unlike textbooks.

Read More
1620 Words | 7 Pages

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, the setting, especially the social and racial aspects of the setting are an integral part of Gaines’ novel. From the first chapter of the novel, racial aspects have played heavily into the story. For example, Jefferson’s defense states, “What justice would there be to take this life? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (8 Gaines). Even if this was meant to help Jefferson’s case, it ultimately just showed how racism plays into the court system.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

What do A Lesson Before Dying and To Kill A Mockingbird have in common? Both books take place in the prejudiced south, an African-American character is killed, and both books show the reader how justice was handled when a person of color was brought to court. A Lesson Before Dying is similar to To Kill A Mockingbird because both books have a similar theme of injustice, the convicted characters are truly innocent, and both books end with a tragic death. In the first chapter of A Lesson Before Dying, the reader is introduced to Jefferson, a young black male who is convicted of murdering a white shopkeeper and robbing his store.

Read More
2126 Words | 9 Pages

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.

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

This novel was an emotional read because of the unfair killing of Jefferson, but it was also a great learning experience because it teaches the reader to try and help others during difficult times. During the time that this event took place there was still racial discrimination, therefore Jefferson was not given a fair trial. He did steal the money, but he did not kill the people in the store. Jefferson knew that stealing was wrong, but he was poor and saw that no one was around to say anything so he took it. Due to this wrong decision he believes that he is a hog who deserves to die.

Read More
510 Words | 3 Pages

The bane of American history, slavery was considered to be one of the gravest hypocrisies and injustices of our nation's past. The act of forcing a fellow man into unlawful servitude casts a darkness onto human ethics. Familiar with this inhumane act, Benjamin Banneker, son of a farmer salve, effectively argues against the use of slavery in his letter to Thomas Jefferson. Banneker immediately begins the letter in a formal, yet urgent tone, and his diction demonstrates thoughtful consideration and tact in this important situation, using words such as "Sir," "suffer me," and "entreat." He essentially aims to appeal to Thomas Jefferson to garner his support through the use of pathos.

Read More
1097 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
655 Words | 3 Pages

In this case, Jefferson, an African American man that was wrongly convicted for murder, has a very poor education. Jefferson did not receive a solid education, which reflects in his grammar and spelling. His frequent use of incorrect contractions and mispronounced words are reflected in any sentence he expresses, “‘You can talk like that; you know you go’n walk out here in a hou. I bet you wouldn't be talking like that if you knowed you was go’n

Read More

More about Jefferson's Death In A Lesson Before Dying

Related Topics

Open Document