Karn Kristin Karn Contemporary Literature April 10, 2012 Satcher-Jones Set in the community of Bayonne, Louisiana, in the

late 1940s, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines tells the story of Jefferson, a twenty-one-year-old uneducated black field worker wrongfully accused and convicted of the robbery and murder of a white man, and sentenced to death by electrocution. At his trial, Jefferson's court-appointed defense attorney argues that Jefferson lacks the intelligence to plan a robbery, and that, even if he had been involved in the killing, sentencing him to death would be like putting a hog on trial and making a waste of time and space to kill him. In spite of this so-called defense, the all-white jury finds Jefferson guilty. To compound the horror of his situation, Jefferson takes it upon himself to act like a hog and show his attorney what a hog actually acts like. Determined that Jefferson will die with dignity and pride, his godmother, Miss Emma, turns to Grant Wiggins, a black teacher at the local plantation school, and asks him to teach Jefferson to be a man. Although convinced that there is nothing he can do, Grant reluctantly agrees to visit Jefferson in jail. Tante Lou makes Grant go against his will thought over the next several months, while Jefferson awaits execution, he and Grant forge a bond that enables both men to regain their dignity, reconnect with their community, and learn "the importance of standing." This is also a big theme within the book, the idea of individualism versus the idea of conformity. It involves the belief that we can control our lives instead of being controlled by external forces. Grant and Jefferson learn there is a simple heroism in resisting the expected. Jefferson defies those who consider him a beast of burden by walking straight and tall to the electric chair. Grant recognizes that he does not have to stay and be broken down or run away from the South.

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMIs for the anger that Grant felt towards Tante Lou when she made him go to see Jefferson against his own will. Is for the belligerent attitude Grant had with the school children when they will not listen to him. Is for the way Grants relationship with Jefferson has changed his attitude toward capital punishment. How do people come up with a date and time to take life from another man? Who made them God? Is for the way that Grant is determined to teach Jefferson to die with dignity, after their bond grows stronger. Is for the effectiveness that Grant is trying to apply not only to Jefferson but to his community to change and believe in themselves. Is for the false-hope Grant has in the beginning of the novel when he doesnt know how he is supposed Jefferson to be a man when he, himself does not even feel like he is a man. Is for the genuine bond that Grant shares with Jefferson towards the end of the novel, and how when he thinks back on it he did not even want to help Grant but it ultimately changed his perspective on life and made him a better person today. Is for the way Grant truly believes that Jefferson is the real hero in the novel. this is because he can actually walk to his own death and still be himself. Is for the individualism that Grant is trying to show Jefferson but also gain that knowledge himself and applies it to life when he gets the idea to run away and start over again, I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be. Is for the all white jury that tried Jefferson and how Grant points out that he was doomed before it even began. Grant knows that a white boy supposedly killed by a black man will not go over well with a white jury and he is found guilty before it began. Is for the kind way that Grant talks to Jefferson even when he acts like a hog. Grant knows he cannot lose his temper or she will not be allowed to come back and see him. Is for the way that Grant feels incredibly lonely when Vivian is not allowed to stay with him and how she rejects his offer to run away together. Is for the how Grant feels little to the whit man, he feels inferior and so does the rest of the black community. Even though Grant can be smarter than them he still feels belittled and wants to get away.

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Is for the neglect that Grant feels when he first starts to see Jefferson, he doesnt really talk to Grant and neglects all of his help and although Grant doesnt mind because he didnt want to in the first place he feels like he is wasting his time. Is for the opinionated way that Grant talks to Vivian, he tells her all his ideas and his opinion on things, yet he is doing nothing to change them in his own community. His only solution is to run away from this place and not return, but he cannot do that for he loves it too much. Is for the pressure grant feels by Miss Emma to give her someone she can be proud of and so she can die happily knowing her son gave it his all. I don't know if Miss Emma ever had anybody in her past that she could be proud of. Possibly - maybe not. But she wants that now, and she wants it from him Is for the way Grant questions himself about how he is supposed to teach Jefferson to die a man,What do I say to him? Do I know what a man is? Do I know how a man is supposed to die? I'm still trying to find out how a man should live. Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived? Is for the way that Grant will always remember Jefferson as the man that he always was and not the hog that people tried to perceive him as. Is for the way Grant acts sarcastically towards Miss Emma when she pretends to be sick, sending Grant to see Jefferson alone for the first time. Is for the tension between the sheriff and Paul the first time he goes to he goes to see Jefferson. Grant does not like that he is constantly searched but gets used to it because he goes there so often now. Is for the way Grant is undermined by the sheriff and the way that he has to I tried to decide just how I should respond to them. Whether I should act like the teacher that I was, or like the nigger that I was supposed to be. Grant then chooses to do both; respect the way the sheriff thinks but also shows him that he was no fool and uses his wits. Is for the way that Grant felt victorious at the end of the novel when he believes that Jefferson is able to die with dignity. Is for the way Grant sarcastically worried about Miss Emma when she pretended to be sick to not see Jefferson. This was the first solo meeting for Jefferson and Grant. Is for the x-rated feelings Grant feels for Vivian, especially when they travel to the sugar cane fields where they also discuss names for their unborn children. Is for the yearly Christmas play that Grants students put on, and how it was different this year with the way the students brought in a really nice tree. This marks the beginning of the children wanting better for themselves. Is for the way Grant feels zealous to make sure Tante Lou and Miss Emma are happy with what he is doing and how he has to makes proud.