Character Analysis: The Lessons Before Dying

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Leslie Bautista Prentice English 2 December 9, 2014 The Lessons Before Dying Jefferson learning to become a man wasn’t the only lesson taught in the story. Bothe Jefferson and Grant go through conflicts such as trust and mind set to end up learning something much bigger than a title of a man. These conflicts and lessons are still problems that are being fought. From racism to relationship with god, the novels big lesson could be fit to anyones daily life. Grant criticizes his society for most of the novel. He resents the racism of whites, and he cannot stand to think of Jefferson’s conviction and imprisonment. Although feeling this way about his society and town, he does nothing to change what is wrong. Like Grant's teacher from grade school,…show more content…
As Matthew Antoine had mentioned, "What do I know about life? I stayed here. You have to go away to know about life. There’s no life here. There’s nothing but ignorance here. You want to know about life? Well, it’s too late." (Gaines 65) Jefferson’s conviction was accepted by the whole town with a silence. Even Grant stays silent, ignoring Miss Emma and his aunt, who try to teach him how to regain his humanity. Not only was he silent in the beginning, but he was unsure about helping Jefferson 'become a man' when he says, “I’m the teacher ... and I teach what the white folks around here tell me to teach—reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. This reveals the causes of Grant’s anxiety about teaching Jefferson his final lesson. His education had been based on mastering the vocabulary of the white. They never told me how to keep a black boy out of a liquor store.” During the course of the novel, however, Grant comes to realize that after watching Jefferson…show more content…
This is so important because it is what motivates Grant to make a change in the discrimination and the way the dark skinned are treated. This can be tied into the real world lesson of the Ferguson shootings. Once people that lived in Ferguson and states all over saw what was going on with racism and they didn’t like it, they learned to stand up and protest. Days and months after these series of unfortunate events, there are other countries even helping the citizens of the United States protest to make a change. Even as an animal enthusiast, I have always eaten meat. Although I knew there should be change, I constantly wanted someone else to change it. Just as Grant had seen what was happening to Jefferson, I saw the same with animals. When Grant got a closer relationship with Jefferson and allowed himself to recognize what he needed to change, I did as well. Although it is not fighting for racial rights, I decided to help animals get adopted and save more animals by becoming vegetarian. Just like Jefferson, I saw that a change had to be

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