Lesson Before Dying

Submitted By nscia
Words: 610
Pages: 3
Open Document
One Man’s Life Ends and Another Man’s Life is Renewed In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gains, two men’s lives are changed forever . Sentenced to death for crime he did not commit, Jefferson is now no longer known as a man but an animal. However, sent to help him by close family, Grant Wiggin , local plantation teacher, is persuaded into visiting the prison to pass on his knowledge and dignity to Jefferson, showing him that he was born a man and should die like one. Slowly, a bond is formed, a friendship grows and lessons are learned. The moment when Grant and Jefferson are in the dayroom, outside the cell with Reverend Ambrose and Jefferson’s Godmother, and Jefferson still hasn’t eaten, Grant pulls him aside and tells him how much it would mean to his godmother if he ate just one or two bites of her food, telling him how big of a smile she will have on her face when she returns home. Grant tells Jefferson what a true hero is, someone who does things for other people. This conversation sparked something in Jefferson, Grant tells him that he cannot stand up to defy whites, but Jefferson has enough strength so he can do it. In the beginning, Grant was not sure how he was going to help Jefferson, he wasn’t sure of the right things to say in order to convince him that he is a man. Jefferson, now convinced that he was no longer a man but an animal, believed that he deserved his punishment. Inside of Jefferson grew an anger for the people trying to help him, an anger

that caused him to be without emotion or care for others, he saw everyone as his enemy but like Jefferson, Grant sees and understands Jefferson’s anger, the feeling of being trapped. Jefferson’s anger confided him to his sell, he wouldn’t eat, or speak. His godmother, who raised him and protected him, couldn’t see why he was being like this, she didn’t understand that Jefferson believed the words of his lawyer, called him a hog, and animal, she couldn’t see that Jefferson was hurt and all she could see was his anger.

A stronger bond begins to form
Show More

Related Documents: Lesson Before Dying

Personal Narrative: Memoir

Memoir Draft The word “cancer” didn’t mean anything to me. The only experiences I had with disease were temporary. Colds and coughs. The idea of death was the stuff of nightmares and movies. At the time, all of the grandparents that I had ever known were still alive. In fact, the only experience I had with death to that day was my cat, Pillar, which was the only thing I think my mom may have possibly loved more than her family. Had I known how close my mom had come to dying, I don’t think I would…

Words 1220 - Pages 5

American Revolution and Sheila Skemp Essay

SHAPING AMERICA FINAL SCRIPT TITLE: WRITER: PRODUCER: DRAFT: DATE: Lesson 7: “Making a Revolution” Gretchen Dyer Julia Dyer Final 6 February, 2001 Lesson 7 “Making a Revolution” • VISUAL Final Script • 1 AUDIO 1 UNIT OPENING 2 3 1. VIVID MONTAGE of images of violent protest--e.g.: 1) riots in bread lines during the Depression; 2) the Cultural Revolution in China; 4) the student anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s; 5) MLK’s March on Washington;…

Words 5257 - Pages 22

Essay on ASST 4 draft

Memorial Day, it is a sombre occasion which remembers the Great War as a tragedy for Newfoundland, marked by the Regiment's slaughter at Beaumont Hamel, France, on 1 July 1916. The attack at Beaumont Hamel warrants study in order to benefit from lessons learned from the many breakdowns in command, control and communications (C3) that took place on that day. As such, the following paper endeavors to answer the question of whether the tragedy of Beaumont Hamel was preventable. In doing, so I will…

Words 3324 - Pages 14

Malcolm X Essay

passing as white, she stays at home to cook and clean for her family. When the family moves to Lansing, Michigan, in 1929, another white supremacist group burns down their house. Malcolm says that watching his house burn taught him one of many early lessons about being black in America. He sees that success for blacks in Lansing means waiting tables or shining shoes rather than working in a respected profession and that the majority of black people are poor and jobless. Chapter Two: Mascot In 1937,…

Words 5687 - Pages 23

How To Do Almost Anything In EAP

How to Do Almost Anything in EAP A guide to the EAP module and beyond….. Science http://www.stjohnsji.co.uk/school-clubs-1/science-1Contents page Overview of EAP 3 Expectations 4 Good attendance 4 Learning Outcomes 6 Skills 10 How your final EAP grade is calculated 11 Learning Journal 12 Final examinations 15 Academic Honesty 16 Collusion & fabrication 17 Turnitin 18 Writing Assessment 20 Analysing the question…

Words 6469 - Pages 26

Essay Change Summary

Standard English Year 11, 2013 http://myyearwithoutclothesshopping.com/mystory/lessons-learned-from-my-year-without-clothes-shopping/ Area of Study : Change Set Text: Looking for Alibrandi by Melena Marchetta Area of Study and Texts for the Common Content of Standard and Advanced Courses The Area of Study must be considered in the context of the Area of Study description in the syllabus, course objectives, content and outcomes. (Reread English Stage 6 Syllabus, p 32 and pp 35–38; p 50…

Words 9417 - Pages 38

History: Middle Ages and Medieval Castle Residents Essay

of dragons. Students learned more when they ventured out into the countryside to talk with trappers, hunters, furriers and poachers, who spent their time observing wildlife. Medieval students often sat together on the floor, scrawling notes from lessons using a bone or ivory stylus on wooden tablets coated with green or black wax. Knights were also educated and looked down upon if they could not read and write. Girls were virtually ignored when it came to education. Only daughters of the very rich…

Words 4334 - Pages 18

CRM 1301 Midterm uOttawa Carolyn Gordon Essays

The Demonic Perspective Trephining Individual who were having illusions or were delusional had a hole drilled in their skull in order to get rid of the spirits. If that person was still alive, the procedure was successful Witchcraft Correlated with ‘The Crucible’ where Tituba, Sarah Good & Sarah Osborne are accused of witchcraft in Salem, 1692 What to do with the witches?! Exodus 22:18- Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live Leviticus 20:27- A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit…

Words 10213 - Pages 41

Gp Essay Mainpoints

GP NOTES 2010 (ESSAY) Content Page 1. Media a. New vs. Traditional b. New: narcissistic? c. Government Censorship d. Profit-driven Media e. Advertising f. Private life of public figures g. Celebrity as a role model h. Blame media for our problems i. Power + Responsibility of Media j. Media ethics k. New Media and Democracy 2. Science/Tech a. Science and Ethics b. Government and scientist role in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technology…

Words 24667 - Pages 99

Managing Information Technology (7th Edition) Essay

CONTENTS: CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY 1 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (A): The Role of the Operating Manager in Information Systems CASE STUDY I-1 IMT Custom Machine Company, Inc.: Selection of an Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-2 VoIP2.biz, Inc.: Deciding on the Next Steps for a VoIP Supplier CASE STUDY I-3 The VoIP Adoption at Butler University CASE STUDY I-4 Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of New York City CASE STUDY I-5…

Words 239873 - Pages 960