Perseverance Essay Examples

It is a concept that has been shown to me by my parents’ struggles throughout their lives. My dad persevered to get where he is today. He grew up fairly poor and was determined to make a better life for himself, so he didn’t let anything get in the way. Even when he was eighteen living in a dilapidated nine dollar hotel and hanging power lines in the bitter Iowan winter, he didn’t give up. He said that even though he felt hopeless, he knew he had to preserve. Perseverance is not giving up when facing struggles and my dad is the embodiment of that concept. By my dad persevering through his struggles, he showed me that I cannot let obstacles be my demise. Another person who has displayed perseverance in my life is my mom. When I was about four, my loving, caring grandma died. This greatly affected my mom, but even though she was in pain she put on a brave face for me and my brother, and I think that this is a great example of perseverance. This also makes me want to be brave and have perseverance when I face challenges in my own life because if she got through hard times in her life then I can too. The people around me have shaped my idea of perseverance by the way that they have displayed it in their

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

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

Grant is very strict towards his students. Grant then thinks about his teacher when he was a child, Matthew Antoine, describes him to us, tells about his influence, and what they talked about. Next, Grant goes with Miss Emma to visit Jefferson in his cell, but when they talk to him, he doesn’t acknowledge that they are their and is difficult to them. During Grant’s next visit, Jefferson acts like a hog and is infatuated with the idea that he is one. Grant wants to leave town with Vivian, but there are several things holding them back. Grant and Vivian discuss the names of their future children and talk to Miss Emma and Tante Lou. The visits to the jail continue and there isn’t much progress with Jefferson. Jefferson doesn’t want to eat or talk. Grant goes to Mr. Pichot’s house and Jefferson’s execution date is set on a Friday. Another visit, Jefferson tells Grant that he wants a gallon of ice cream for dinner his last night. Grant gets him a radio to keep him company, but Reverend Ambrose, Tante Lou, and Miss Emma thing the radio is a bad thing for him. Grant also gets Jefferson a notebook and pencil so he can right down his feelings or what he’s thinking about. You start to see Grant and Jefferson start to bond and Grant leaves happy with what is happening. The next time he goes to see Jefferson, Miss Emma goes.

Through Grant’s actions it is easy to see he is not comfortable with his life. He lives in a small, racially discriminated and prejudiced town, and is a college educated man treated like a man who hasn’t finished elementary school. Adding Jefferson’s situation on top of all that, it is easy to see how Grant desires to simply give up and run away with the love of his life, Vivian. But Grant realizes that the issues at hand are bigger than just him; the way Jefferson dies will have a lasting impact, much like Christ’s crucifixion, on the local community. He understands that the dignity Jefferson shows in

Grant already has a lot of things to deal with in his life and then when he gets handed one more major assignment which was to help Jefferson he thought he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He took a long time to think over his plan of what he was going to do with Jefferson and he came to a conclusion that he would try and help him. During this process Grant and Jefferson formed a trust with each other which later lead them to become friends. Grant brought him all sorts of things to comfort him like a radio, specific types of food he wanted and lastly a notebook and a pencil so that he could express his thoughts. Jefferson knew that he could go to Grant whenever he needed guidance. Grant also brought his class of students to meet Jefferson so that he would realize that he isn’t in his battle alone and that a lot of people care about him. Grant knew that he had helped Jefferson when Jefferson wrote in his diary “good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man” (Gaines, 234). These are the reasons why I think Grant learned that even the littlest things can help another person change the way they think of

In the novel a Lesson Before Dying, the character Jefferson has a bigger impact on Grant’s life. Grant did not reflect on life until he starts to visit Jefferson. By the end of the novel Grant has hope, willingness to stay committed and saw the importance of his job. At the start of the novel, Jefferson's god mom wants Grant to go make Jefferson into a man. Grant responds is “Jefferson is already died” and “we did all we could do for Jefferson” (14).

Everyone has gone through a hardship in their life before but only a few people help stay through it all. In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins, the novel’s protagonist, stays with Jefferson through his bad times and is there to capture his good times. When Jefferson is accused of robbery and first degree murder solely because of his skin color, his punishment decided by the court is execution by electrocution. With the days to his end coming closer, Grant teaches Jefferson how to become a man; a wish made by Jefferson’s godmother since people refer to him as a hog. Grant Wiggins is a teacher and is one of the very few black men in Bayonne, Louisiana that is educated, making him think very highly of himself and is reluctant towards helping others. Although Grant’s egoistic personality may set barriers between Jefferson and him, he overcomes this flaw when he frequently visits Jefferson in jail. Grant learns and starts to spend time helping others and those who are most dearest to him. Even though the educated Grant Wiggins is arrogant towards black people in the beginning of the novel, his encounters with Jefferson lead to a positive change that makes him more compassionate and committed to helping those whom he loves.

For the majority of the novel, Grant denies that he can help Jefferson in any way at all. When his aunt and Miss Emma request that Grant go talk to Jefferson to teach him that he is a man, Grant explains, "It is only a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months – but he's already dead…All I can do is try to keep the others from ending up like this…There's nothing I can do anymore, nothing any of us can do anymore" (14). Before receiving extreme pressure from his aunt to comply, Grant goes so far as to refuse to even attempt to help Jefferson. With this attitude that "There's nothing [he] can do anymore," Grant can, in fact, do nothing. Even though Grant correctly recognizes the fact that Jefferson will die in a short while, he fails to acknowledge the possibility of working through the injustices to make a difference. Grant, himself, feels stuck in his environment – he is "just running in place" there – yet he feels a sort of responsibility for his people and an attraction to the town, and cannot bring himself to leave (15). In order to "try to keep the others from ending up like" Jefferson, Grant wants to help his students, but he fails to respect them (14). If Grant has a bad day, he takes out his anger on his students, slapping them on the back of the head for playing with an insect, or sending them to the corner for an hour

Before Grant began having his sessions with Jefferson, Jefferson was going to sit in his jail cell and just give up on life. Thinking of himself as a “hog”. He even started doubting God. Grant was also going through his own issues in life, which in his eyes included being a horrible teacher, and even doubting God also. After every visit with Jefferson, Grant realized that if he could indeed help Jefferson get his life together before he is executed, then he could also get his life back on the right path. Also if he could make such difference in Jefferson’s life, then he could make a huge difference in his classroom. While preparing for Jefferson’s death the readers could tell that both of them were changing. It took time for the both of them to actually change, but once the realized that they needed each other they soon began changing. Jefferson began writing down his thoughts in his notebook, he started to eat his food like a normal person, he even began praying to God, when at first, he didn’t give a care in the world for him. Grant on the other hand, started to become a better teacher, and he learned that running away from everything in his life would do nothing but make him a coward and hurt him even

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.

There are, in fact, numerous lessons learnt throughout the novel A Lesson Before Dying and they are learnt by a multitude of different characters. A significant number of characters throughout the book gradually evolve whilst story unfolds with this gradient of change emphasised in Jefferson, Grant Wiggins and the deputy, Paul. The lessons substantiate themselves in the words and actions of all the characters throughout the novel; however, it is Grant who learns perhaps the most. Through his interactions with Jefferson and his direct community, Grant, even unintentionally, develops his understanding of life beyond the grasp

Since both Grant’s aunt and Jefferson’s godmother asked Grant to turn Jefferson into a man before he dies in the electric chair, he feels obligated to do this task as he would feel guilty if he was just going to leave everyone but his girlfriend behind. He also came back to the plantation to teach children for he loves them dearly. If he doesn’t accomplish these tasks, he would feel depressed for the rest of his life, regretting his decision. In regards to his inner battles, he believes that there is no way he would be able to help Jefferson. “This prejudice he makes towards Jefferson and his ignorance helps reveal the meaning of the work that his conflict elucidates. The common meaning of the work is prejudice and racism affects everyone. Aside from the obvious, the jury, the police, and the majority of other white characters in the story that are constantly prejudice, Grants inner conflict plays a large role in the work’s theme.” (MegaEssays a Lesson Before Dying 1). While Grant has the constant battle within himself, as he doesn’t feel like he is capable to turn Jefferson into a man, for Grant doesn’t feel like a man either. Grant also has to deal with the women in his life which have quite different goals, ideals and beliefs than him. “He feels that they are all bending to the will of the whites and seems very frustrated that so few of them do not