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What Are The Themes In A Lesson Before Dying

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The society a person grows up in and the actions of that society mold the destiny of a person. Ernest J. Gaines, the author of A Lesson Before Dying is a prime example of this perception. Gaines uses two of the preeminent characters in his book to display this idea, Grant Wiggins and Jefferson. Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, albeit he was innocent and was just at the crime scene at the wrong time. A majority of the other characters visit Jefferson while he’s in jail, with one of those characters being Grant Wiggins. Grant is an disciplinarian who is additionally going through a predicament of his own. That predicament is his futile attempts to leave Bayonne, due to Grant’s girlfriend having to remain in Bayonne in …show more content…

Grant never wanted to stay in Bayonne, but elements outside of his control kept him there. The main one being Grant’s girlfriend didn’t want to leave until she had a divorce and her kids were protected. Grant realized that he needs support outside Bayonne, and he can’t leave without her, thus leaving him stuck in Bayonne. Pages 29 and 30 support this by stating “ ‘I’m still married,’ Vivian said. ‘A separation is not a divorce. I can’t go anywhere until all this is over with.’ … ‘I want to go now, and I want you to go with me.’ … ‘After the divorce I’ll do whatever you want me to do…’” (Gaines 29-30) Without Vivian in Grant’s life, he would be somewhere far away from Bayonne, but thanks to Vivian, Grant is forced to stick around. The differences between Bayonne and anywhere else are crazy, from the opportunities to the treatment of people. It can also be compared to the world today, such as the differences between Buffalo, NY and Switzerland. There are so many different things to do and achieve based on where you are in the world. Grant can’t experience these new things due to the fact that he can’t leave Bayonne, so he is therefore having his destiny controlled by uncontrollable …show more content…

Jefferson was only standing in a store, and the next hour he was in custody and was being sentenced to death for murder. Jefferson didn’t do anything wrong, he couldn’t have prevented the 3 people from dying in the store. However, Bayonne’s community views Jefferson as a African American male who was at the scene of a 3 person murder. Jefferson couldn’t control how the other people would react to him being at the crime scene. Page 5 takes this more into depth by stating, “Grope moved quickly toward the cash register, where he withdrew a revolver and started shooting. Soon there was shooting from another direction. When it was quiet again, Bear, Grope, and Brother were all down on the floor, and only Jefferson was standing.” (Gaines 5) Jefferson had nothing to do with, nor could do anything to prevent this from happening. It didn’t matter because Jefferson was still arrested. Jefferson couldn’t control the fact that this happened, but his destiny was controlled by the uncontrollable forces around

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In the town of Bayonne, Louisiana, Grant Wiggins, goes to the trial of Jefferson, a 21-year-old man who has been accused of the homicide of a white seller. Jefferson demands that

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( Gaines pg: 8) This is a perfect example on how the attorney believes Jefferson is guilty in his case because in the end he gave the jury a mental image for a moment to vision Jefferson being guilty and then comparing the relationship on whether it matters to keep this man alive or not. All the evidence the attorney had to present Jefferson’s defense showed how much of a difference it is to be black rather then white in the

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Grant is hopeful to change Jefferson by giving him a notebook and having him write down all his feelings. Grant even dreamed that, “There was a lot of erasing, then he wrote: If I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Starb me like a hog? More erasing, then: Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs,” (Gaines 220). Eventually, Jefferson did manage to write down all of his thoughts and get his anger out of him.

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In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson is convicted of a murder he did not commit simply for being the wrong colour, in the wrong place, at the wrong

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Immediately after hearing Jefferson’s execution date, he instantly thought, “ How do people come up with a date and a time to take life from another man? Who made them God” ( Gaines 157)? In disbelief, Grant feels infuriated on how these people are capable of doing this. Therefore, he questions the justice system by pondering to himself, “ Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice” ( Gaines 157)?

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In chapters 8-15 of "A Lesson Before Dying," Ernest Gaines takes us deeper into the characters' lives in a racially divided South. Grant's visits to Jefferson in prison reveal the complexities of their relationship and the challenge of maintaining humanity before his execution. As Grant deals with the prison's power dynamics and his struggles, we see how societal issues affect them. Gaines explores themes of identity, resilience, and dignity in the face of injustice through heartfelt interactions and personal reflection. " In Chapter 8 of *A Lesson Before Dying*, we witness Grant's visit to Jefferson in prison, where the dehumanizing treatment by the guards underscores the racial injustice prevailing in the community.

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After Granny’s passing, Bayard improves as a person and has newfound knowledge in law what’s expected of him. He takes what he knows and makes a very courageous choice that ultimately proves that Bayard is a man now. Near the beginning of the story, Bayard is a cowardly young boy who is afraid of his grandmother’s punishment and acts in childish ways. After Bayard takes up law school, and gets a little older, his views and actions change for the better.

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Both of these interactions take place in cases where Jefferson shows signs of opening up to others, but they are also instances of how little Jefferson loves or cares about those who care about him. On page 139, this is addressed when Jefferson has another conversation with Grant a couple of days later. When talking with Jefferson, Grant tells him, “no matter how bad off we are,’ I said, ‘we still owe something. You owe something, Jefferson. Not to me.

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A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying is a novel based on the real life event of the Willie Francis execution. Grant Wiggins was teaching on a plantation outside of Bayonne, Louisiana, for several years. A man named Jefferson was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. Jefferson claims he was not guilty of the crime.

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Jefferson lashes out because he feels as if he can’t do anything about his impending death. For this reason, he continuously shames himself and others around him. Jefferson

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In the novel A lesson before dying, by Earnest Gaines, it introduces the conflict (execution) that its main character, Jefferson gets himself into at the young age of 21.The problem leads him and his community to face recognizing injustice and facing responsibility. Through the conflict Jefferson takes on responsibility from the execution, encourage, and realizes that it is nothing he can do but deal with the execution not alone, but with his community as well. Jefferson’s actions toward the execution changed from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. At the beginning of the text Jefferson begun to be very unresponsive towards his counselor/teacher Grant, the two didn’t get alone because of them not being connected. “After a while he raised his head, but he didn’t look at me; he looked at the barred window.”

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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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Jefferson didn 't do anything, but he was going to steal money from the cash register. Jefferson was there but at the wrong time. The police thought that it was Jefferson because he was black. Jefferson should of stand up for himself or told the judge that it wasn 't him. This book is told in the 1940’s so it makes sense that Jefferson didn 't have a say in what happened.

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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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Zeal Often confused with courage ,according to Merriam- Webster's’ Dictionary, zeal is “A strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something”. William Shakespeare is a famous composer, but not many people know that he showcased zeal in his everyday life. As a young boy William lived in a nice neighborhood, where his father would soon become mayor of. Living with a wealthy family William was bound to have big dreams. As William entered his teenage years he wanted to become a teacher or a person of law, but his father had failed and his family went bankrupt.

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