Compare And Contrast Reverend Ambrose And A Lesson Before Dying

In A Lesson Before Dying by author Ernest J Gaines, Grant is the protagonist who is trying to do the right thing for his people. Grant is in a very turbulent situation, having to make Jefferson into a “man” by the time he is executed. This is the central plot of the story, but not the main themes and ideas of it. Grant is struggling to help Jefferson because he sees generations of injustice through him. “’We got our first load of wood last week,’ [Grant] told him. ‘Nothing changes,’ he said.” (Gaines, 53). The response Grant’s teacher gives him has a deeper meaning: he as Grants’ teacher failed to change the injustice and racism and Grant is in the same situation. “Nothing changes”, but Grant does not give up for the sake of Jefferson, his people, and most importantly, himself. At one point, Grant actually reveals that “it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind. So, he,

In the novel, A lesson before dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, Grant Wiggins is a person who can at times be ill to all people around him. Grant Wiggins, a teacher at the school, in the end of the book shows that he has changed over the course of the book. At the beginning, he thought that it was pointless to go visit jefferson to try to make him a “man”. He said “Now his godmother wants me to visit him and make him know-- prove to these white men--that he’s not a hog, that he’s a man”(Gaines 44). This is showing that not only does Grant not want to go to the Jail and talk to jefferson but he also doesn't want to go to deal with the sheriff either. And this was just the beginning of it. Near the end you can see his diversity changing when he finally

      "They sentence you to death because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no proof that you had anything at all to do with the crime other than being there when it happened. Yet six months later they come and unlock your cage and tell you, We, us, white folks all, have decided it’s time for you to die, because this is the convenient date and time" (158). Ernest J. Gaines shows the internal conflicts going through the mind of Mr. Wiggins in his novel A Lesson Before Dying (1933). Mr. Wiggins is struggling through life and can’t find his way until he is called upon against his own will to help an innocent man, Jefferson. The help is not that of freeing him at all.

The Jim Crow Era was peak time for segregation causing Jefferson’s journey in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines to open up the eyes of many, no matter what one’s skin color is, by showing what it means to die as a hero even when seen as the villain. Grant is to make Jefferson a man before he dies by showing him the truths about religion, race, and the United States justice system. Jefferson also teaches Grant a few things about life, creating a unique bond between the two.

Throughout his trial, his defense attorney constantly disparaged him. Jefferson’s defense was based on the premise that he did not have the intelligence to commit such a serious crime. In an effort to portray him as an barbarian, Jefferson’s lawyer refused to refer him as a human being. He referred to him as “boy, fool and hog” and contented that these qualities were “inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungles of Africa” (Gaines 7). This is what the majority of Whites thought of Jefferson and black people in general. Instead of giving him a genuine defense, Jefferson’s lawyer continued to dehumanize him throughout the trial. He even compared his execution to the killing of a hog. Fighting for his freedom by accepting that he is an ignoramus or expressing his humanity were the two difficult options Jefferson had.

In modern society, white men are accused of being delegated more power than others of different races. Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying takes place in a white supremacist society where Jefferson, a black man, is wrongly accused of murder and is downgraded to a hog by his attorney as a strategy to validate Jefferson’s story; however, this strategy does not work, and he is sentenced to death which evokes Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, to help him regain his dignity as a man before his passing. Grant Wiggins, an educated black man, is called upon to help Jefferson with the process of restoring his character; concurrently, Grant Wiggins also reestablishes and reconnects with his own identity. In a community comprised of a white majority, the African

Grant is constantly having an eternal battle within himself on whether or not he is willing to take action against the white despotism. When Jefferson 's case is first brought up to Grant by Miss Emma and his aunt, he responds by saying, “Yes, I’m the teacher...And I teach what the white folks around here tell me to teach—reading, writing, and ’rithmetic. They never told me how to keep a black boy out of a liquor store" (Gaines ch 2). His whole education has revolved around the white system and what they want him to know and do. He feels that because he has been taught by the white-American

Throughout history and in literature, Black has always been portrayed as evil, whereas White has represented purity and light. These oversimplified stereotypes of something so abstract as skin color has plagued our culture with prejudice and hatred. Ernest E. Gaines, author of A Lesson Before Dying, tells the story of a young black boy named Jefferson who is set to die for essentially being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a schoolteacher who is faced with the task of making him a “man”. The novel takes place in Bayonne, Louisiana in the 1940’s, a time when racism prospered. At this time in history people faced extreme prejudice based on the color of their skin. Though slavery had been abolished almost eighty years

In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American, Jefferson, is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and as the only survivor is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, his attorney calls him a hog in an effort to persuade the jury that he could not have possibly planned a crime like this. Having heard this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, calls on the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in prison and help prove to the community, more importantly the white people, that Jefferson is indeed a man, not a hog. Throughout the book, Grant often contemplates why he is helping Miss Emma; he debates within himself whether he should stay and help Miss Emma and

The fact that Grant considers himself to be better than all of the black residents of Bayonne is one of the many things that holds Grant back from being an effective coach to assist Jefferson in his quest to become a man. Another contributing factor to his ineffective teaching is his lack of self confidence. If Jefferson does not see a worthy example of how to be a man, then he will never effectively become one himself. After a few visits to see Jefferson in his cell, persevering through his own belief that he is not making a difference, being told that he was wasting his time, he realized that he was doing much more than performing a favor for Miss Emma and Tante Lou. He realized that he wasn’t only trying to turn Jefferson into a man. This was Miss Emma and Tante Lou’s way of teaching himself a lesson on how to live his life and who he really is. “I need you,” I told him. “I need you much more than you could ever need me” (Gaines, 193). This quote represents the

The Right to Be Free In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, although Grant is an educated black man in the era of a racist society he has struggles greater than most men of his decent. I feel sorry for him because of his limitations, even though I view him as a coward. He cannot break free of his background and family. The three main female characters in the novel, Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian, restrict and limit Grant's choices. Grant realizes that freedom means leaving his small town and creating a new life, yet each woman holds a chain that keeps him from his destiny and the right to be free. First, Tante Lou, his aunt holds Grant from his dreams by refusing to let him go his own way. Tante Lou wants Grant to stay

Becoming a highly analyzed novel, many critics speak about their feelings. Carl Senna, one a literary critic, discusses the reasons for lack of communication in A Lesson before Dying. A large part of their communication problem comes directly from their class differences. Although Grant is not considered rich, he is well educated and lives rather comfortably, whereas Jefferson is nearly illiterate and has been a struggling farmhand most of his life. This gap that separates them makes it very difficult for them to speak. Neither one of them is at fault for this, but it frustrates Jefferson to the point where he often wants to leave the jail cell and not return. Also Grant speaks with Jefferson "reluctantly, prompted by his aunt, a moralizing scold and a nag"(Senna 5). Another good point Senna makes is that because of the time period, blacks were struggling to become equals and were more engrossed with their own wants and needs than worrying about Jefferson. Yes, they all realized that he is innocent but they are not at a time where they can fight for the innocence of this young boy. Therefore Grant "becomes their instrument in trying to save him[Jefferson] from disgrace"(Senna 5). Jefferson was not seen as much to these

In addition,Grants attitude begins to change after a few visit at the the cell with jefferson. Jefferson opened up to Grant about how he never had owned a radio or ate a bowl of ice cream in his life. Grant stated “I saw a slight smile come to his face, and it was not a bitter smile. Not bitter at all”. This action was a turning point for Grant. Jefferson’s thoughts revived Grants emotions and helped him see the actual person he was. Grant learned how to become educated and think like a man, rather than being negative all the time. He figured out that he wasn’t just accomplishing a good for Jefferson, but teaching his students that as an African American, you shouldn’t allow the white take control nor advantage of you.

Through teaching Jefferson, Grant realizes that he had falsely attributed self-worth to things such as education and that there was much more to a human than his original understanding and he recognizes this when he says “My eyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life.” (Gaines, 2002, p. 225”). Indeed it was Jefferson that taught him that redemption belongs to everyone and that his duty to his community is worth much more than he initially ascribed to it. It is clear that Grant learnt from Jefferson as much as Jefferson learnt from Grant.

December 18, 1865, marked the end of African-American slavery in America, where-by black people gained more freedom in the land. However, a power imbalance between the black and white is still present. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines gives readers insight to the immense abuse and hatred towards black people in the 1940s of America and furthers the reader's knowledge of black segregation and how the black people never gave up for their freedom and rights. The novel’s main plot follows Grant Wiggins, a young black man who was given the responsibility to make Jefferson, a black man who was unjustifiably accused of murder and sentenced to death by electrocution become truly a man and not a “hog” which is what the lawyer labeled Jefferson as. Throughout the novel, readers can recognize the great bond created as Grant encourages and aids Jefferson in becoming a man before his “judgment day”. Nevertheless, the novel was not only about Jefferson’s lesson before his death, but it was a lesson for many other characters in the novel. The most important lesson to learn before dying is the lesson of never give up, which can be seen through the actions of Jefferson, Miss Emma, and Grant.