Lessons Learned In A Lesson Before Dying

Have you ever learned important lessons from someone who you’d never talk to in normal circumstances? In “A Lesson Before Dying” both Grant and Jefferson learn what it means to be human.These Lesson about being human are developed when Grant and Jefferson being meeting, after Jefferson is put in jail and called a hog on trail.Grant was told to teach Jefferson to be a man while not knowing what it means to be a man himself. Grant doesn’t want to speak to Jefferson as he is everything Grant hates which gives him trouble trying to teach Jefferson but Jefferson teaches Grant lessons and opens his eyes to how the world really is and Jefferson is able to learn from speaking to Grant. These lessons are also developed in the text of “Invictus.”

Grant

In the text it states “My eyes were closed before this moment Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life.”(Gaines 225) This text shows Grant learning something from Jefferson he’s able to teach him that life doesn’t and will not always revolve around him as Jefferson execution will help.It could leave either a positive impact or negative because if Jefferson dies a “hog” the black community will continue to be looked down upon but Jefferson has the ability to change this.If he is able to die like a man the way the people in black community will experience a significant change in how they’re treated equality will be closer as the white people may begin to see the African Americans on a more equal level than rather far inferior. Grant tells Jefferson to write about how he feels and what he’s always thinking about as it teaches Jefferson that he cannot keep what he feels always bottled up.Sometimes he must let it out and talk about it as not speaking to someone can make the feels worse instead of letting it out. As stated in chapter 29 on page 227 it says “ it look like the lord just work for wite folks cause ever sense i wasn nothing but a little boy i been on my on haulin water to the fiel on that ol water cart wit all them dime bukets an that dipper jus hittin an old dorthy just trottin

The poem begins as and it’s easily relatable to the characters of the text “A Lesson Before Dying”. As in the text it says “I am the master of my fate,I am the captain of my soul”(Henley, 27) This directly relates to both Learing about being human and the text of “A Lesson Before Dying” As the text is saying you are in control of what happens and You are the leader of your soul this related to both Grant and Jefferson as Jefferson has the ability to control where he will die like a man or a hog.As Grant can decided what he’s going to do with his life if he’s going to leave louisiana or will he still feel an obligation to stay and endure more of the humiliation he’s feeling as he constantly has to address the white men as sir and speak with low to no intelligence instead of how he would be able to speak regularly.Another piece of evidence is also able to reveal how these lessons of being human are developed as the text says “I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.” This directly relates back to lessons of being human as apart of being is human is having a strong soul so the challenges you face will not break your soul and spirit.It also directly relates to the character of “A Lesson Before Dying” as both characters Grant and Jefferson must have an unconquerable soul to live and faces the constant racism they endure living in louisiana and not lose their sanity or give up everything