Ivy Day In A Lesson Before Dying

James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” Ralph Ellison are two stories by young african american men in the 50’s. Racial abuse was in abundance during this era. In both stories race has an important role however, in “Battle Royal” Ellison used race as the driving force of the story. In “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin uses race as an important theme but is subtle as opposed to Ellison who directly addresses race as the issue. “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” depicted the suffering of young black men in harlem, and illustrated the struggle of generation past and present; and the vicious cycle of the stereotype of african americans. African americans during this time endured in environment of hatred, but not only by whites but also by themselves, they hated who they were because they weren't white, in order for a person to be accepted in society or seen as valuable african americans believed they had to be white.

The setting of the novel is a rural plantation in Louisiana in the Deep South. Most of the story takes place on Henri Pichot’s plantation. He is a wealthy influential man in Bayonne who can influence many decisions. Being set in the 1940’s before civil rights, the whites reigned supreme, and the blacks were still seen as inferior. Gaines uses characters such as Sheriff Guidry, Henri Pichot, and Mr. Joseph Morgan to demonstrate the white mentality towards African Americans (Poston A1). The white mentality causes many negative feelings. Folks says, “Part of Grant’s bitterness stems from his negative feelings about the black population in his hometown” (Folks B1). Grant is always mad and discouraged by the vicious cycle the blacks are put through. “The reader is able to gain insight into Grant’s thoughts and frustrations through his conversations with Vivian, his girlfriend. He feels trapped in his present situation” (Poston A1).

There a character, known as Mitch, whom we can conclude is the author finds himself, a white man in a predominately black area, studying the lifestyles of many of the black men he encounters. The title of the book is derived from a group of people that Mitch meets in a cafeteria and befriends. He often refers to them as "the regulars" because as a routine they always meet in the cafeteria to discuss the days that they have had. Mitch later finds out they've been gathering there for over 10 years. As Mitch observes, the apparent "leader" of the group is a man named Slim, who is a black mechanic that works down in a back alley garage in one of the ghetto areas of Chicago. However, Mitch notes that he is one of the best mechanics he has ever known, which serves to try, right in the beginning of the book to debunk the stereotypes that have been attached to the black working class. Mitch does interact with many of the people he meets in the cafeteria, however, much of his observations are done from the "outside," a pseudo-objective, observant point of view. He is constantly observing how these men interact with each other, how they act on their own and more importantly, what kind of values and morals they uphold and believe in.

“Near six o’clock on the evening of January 31, 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born somewhere near the town of Cairo in Grandy County in southern Georgia” (Rampersad 10). Jackie’s parents, Jerry and Mallie Robinson, first lived together on a small plantation just south of Cairo. Mallie Robinson raised her five children single handedly, and they later moved to Pasadena, California, which was not the most racially friendly environment due to the Robinsons being the only black family on the block. Not having a father in the home, he looked up to his older brothers and saw them as his future, they are the ones who introduced him into the sports

These things give us more information about Grant himself and the world he’s living in. For example, Grant thinks to himself: “Had Jefferson ever hit a home run?... You had to hit it just right, and that took timing and luck. Lily Green hit as many as anyone else… But her luck ran out before she was twenty. Killed accidentally in a barroom in Baton Rouge.” (Gaines, 198) This one quote shows us that Grant is connecting the current events to the past events which is a recurring theme in the story. Grant first wonders about Jefferson and his time in school and then reminisces about his own time in school. Many from Grant’s generation is already dead. This is significant because a theme in the story is that of progression and change. Grant is trying his best to break out of a vicious cycle of racism by educating the younger generation. When Jefferson is sentenced to death Grant is devastated because he thinks nothing is changing. This is proven when Grant thinks to himself: “What am I doing? Am I reaching them at all? They are acting exactly as the old men did earlier. They are fifty years younger, mayber more, but doing the same thing those old men did who never attended school a day in their lives.” (Gaines, 51) This inner monologue reveals crucial information about the true subject of the story. It is not just a story about a one-time incident in a small town; it is painting a bigger picture of what racism is. Gaines expertly

The game of baseball plays a major role in Troy’s life. He played baseball in the Negro Leagues but the game for him ended because of his color. African Americans were not permitted on baseball teams because of how white people discriminated against them. It was not until 1947 when baseball became integrated and the colored were allowed to play. That did not mean racial discrimination disappeared from baseball. It would still take a while for everyone to accept the African American community and to realize that they are the same people, all here to achieve the American dream. Wilson sets the story in 1957 to show Troy’s experience of how “the American dream remained out of reach for people of African descent” (Koprince par.8). Everyone had a different American dream, but baseball was Troy’s. He never got to achieve the ultimate “America Dream” because he was too old to play when African

The black characters in the novel are all victims of this “separate but equal” mentality; the younger characters yearn for real equality and the older characters have settled in to their lives by accepting their “fate.” The existing structures of society in Bayonne, Louisiana prevent black characters such as Grant Wiggins and Vivian from ever breaking out of their social class; both are forced to remain in their lives as teachers of young black children who will also grow up to live limited lives. Wiggins says of his classroom, “I’m the teacher... and I

In the book I can connect to some of the things in it. In life people have happy things happen and negative things happen. “Life throws too much crap at us as it is, so why hold onto something

Grant gives Jefferson a compassionate and heartfelt lecture/speech which causes Jefferson to start crying and it leads Grant to cry as

Jackie Robinson’s life changed when he became the first black man to play in the World Series and Major League Baseball during a time of segregation in America. These life-changing events challenged him because he had to face racially tense crowds and endured threats from teammates, opponents, and bigoted fans. In paragraph three, Robinson states, “There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me. This quote explains that Jackie Robinson was facing racist people who were threatening him. Despite the racism he faced, Robinson learned to have pride in his accomplishments and appreciate the support courage, and love shown by his supporters. In paragraph eleven, Robinson states,”I don’t think i’ll ever forget the small, shrill voice of a tiny white kid who, in the midst of a racially tense atmosphere during an early game in a Dixie town, cried out “Attaboy Jackie”.” This quote explains how Robinson had pride in himself after a tiny white kid motivated him by encouraging him that he was a really good baseball player. Robinson responded to the life-changing events by not giving up when he was getting hate and racism. In paragraph three, it states, “Within the club, Mr. Rickey had put down rebellion that by letting my teammates know that anyone who didn’t want to be

Although mainly about baseball, the book speaks on topics such as culture, racism, sports and the war. O’Neil writes that Ken Burns used “Shadow ball as a metaphor for the negro-leagues” in his baseball documentary (O’Neil 139). However I believe the Negro League serves as a metaphor for the ideology and viewpoint of segregated America. The idea that black ballplayers couldn’t play in white leagues, no matter how skilled they were, represents American post civil war culture. O’Neil writes that “We were lost in the shadow of prejudice- still are lost (O’Neil

To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid

Jackie Robinson was a star in the eyes of the black people around him. A hero even. He gave them something to cheer for, and a reason to

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

Also, this chapter focuses a lot on Jackie being accepted by his teammates and by the world. That’s why it’s perfect to call the chapter, “The Noble Experiment”. It has never been done before and its Noble because it is planting the seed of equality. In this “experiment” Jackie Robinson faces tons of racism, for example, “”it’s my hands” he sobbed, there black. If only they were white, I’d be as good as anybody then, wouldn’t I, Mr. Rickey?