Injustice In A Lesson Before Dying

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It’s unfortunate how we as a society have to deal with so much injustice in every aspect of our lives. Not much has changed, for this was a repeating theme in A Lesson Before Dying. No matter what facet of life you talk about, you will find corruption. Whether it is governmental workings, social standings, or the educational system. The main transgression you hear about in this novel is how Jefferson is convicted of a crime unjustifiably and sentenced to a death by electrocution. While this may seem as bad as it can get, there are countless smaller infringements encompassing this focal problem. Jefferson’s ill-fated case isn’t a one time thing, injustice is a recurring pattern in their society. The process of the governmental workings is completely…show more content…
It starts from the teachers, to school supplies, all the way to the length of a school year. Whether Grant realizes it or not, he displays the same hypocrisies in his own classroom that he himself is hurt by. We see him lash out at his students, “ Get back in that corner and face the wall and stay there. One more word out of you and you’ll spend the rest of the day standing on one leg.”(Gaines, 60). This disciplinary action was completely unfair since he stares out the window himself. Another fault is, the children are not even eligible to a full school year. “ I was supposed to teach six months out of the year, but actually I taught only five and a half months, from late October to the middle of April, when the children were not needed in the field.” (Gaines, 34) It is such a shame that poverty can drive children out of school. Going to work to support their family is their only option. Regrettably, the children are not supplied with correct supplies to fuel their learning. Grant struggles to manage the students with his minimal supplies, “They already gave me what they said was enough for the year. They’re not giving us any more.” (Gaines, 36) Even what Grant was given was not brand new. They were, “hand-me-downs from the white schools” (Gaines, 57). Talking to the superintendent wouldn’t help matters either, he was only

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