A lesson Before Dying

A Lesson Before Dying is a Historical Fiction novel written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993. A Lesson Before Dying is a Historical Fiction novel written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993.

Plot Summary
G rant Wiggins has been teaching on a plantation outside Bayonne, Louisiana, for several years when a slow-witted man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Jefferson claims he is innocent of the crime. He says he was on his way to a bar, but changed his mind and decided to tag along with two men who were on their way to a liquor store. Upon arriving there, the two men began arguing with the storeowner, and a shootout ensued. The storeowner and the two men died, and Jefferson remained at the scene of the crime. He was arrested and tried for murder. Jefferson’s lawyer argues in court that Jefferson is nothing but a poor fool, hardly more worthwhile than a hog, and therefore incapable of plotting such a scheme. The jury quickly brings back a guilty verdict.Upon hearing the lawyer’s speech, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, resolves to help Jefferson die like a man, not a hog. She asks Grant to help her, knowing that he will resist. Grant left many years prior to attend college, and he returned an educated man. He deplores the injustices done to his fellow black men, but he does not want to get involved in Jefferson’s case. However, after considerable pressure from his aunt, Tante Lou, he agrees to try to help Jefferson. Grant, Miss Emma, and Grant’s aunt go to visit Jefferson in his cell, and they discover that he too heard the lawyer’s words and has taken them to heart. Silent and moody, Jefferson resists Grant’s feeble attempts to reach him. The three visitors spend an uncomfortable hour in the cell and then leave.

During the next few visits, Jefferson continues to frustrate Grant’s attempts to communicate. When Grant attempts to teach Jefferson about dignity, Jefferson insists that dignity is for “youmans,” not hogs. He eats and snuffles in imitation of a hog and tries to anger Grant with stubbornness and malice, but Grant maintains his patience. Each hour-long visit ends in failure, but Grant continues to try to reach Jefferson. On his fourth visit, Grant sparks a conversation with Jefferson about his final meal. Jefferson admits that he wants a gallon of vanilla ice cream because, although he loves ice cream, he has never had more than a thimbleful at a time. This admission begins to break down the barrier between the two men. Grant borrows money from some townspeople and buys Jefferson a small radio. On his next visit, he brings Jefferson a notebook and asks him to write down whatever thoughts come to his mind. Jefferson promises to do so, and by Grant’s next visit, Jefferson has filled most of a page with thoughts concerning the difference between hogs and men.

Grant’s relationships with his girlfriend Vivian and with Reverend Ambrose begin to intensify. Despite her love for Grant, Vivian dislikes his tendency to think only of himself, showing little regard for her needs. Grant uses Vivian to escape the troubles of his life, and he continually suggests that they run away from their hometown and their past in the South. The Reverend Ambrose, himself unable to reach Jefferson, urges Grant to put aside his atheistic beliefs and help save not just Jefferson’s character, but his soul. The Reverend declares that Grant must learn to tell lies for the good of others.

Grant focuses his energy on Jefferson and tries to explain the importance of Jefferson’s death. Jefferson asks Grant if he believes in heaven and Grant replies that he does not, although he qualifies this remark by saying that his atheism does not make him a good man. In fact, Grant says, Jefferson will save even Grant’s atheistic soul if he carries the cross for the sinners on earth. Grant explains that the black community in the quarter has spent centuries enslaved to white men, and that when Jefferson’s attorney called him a hog, he attacked the will and intelligence of the entire black society. In consequence, Jefferson now has the opportunity to stand up for his community. He has become a symbol to his people, and the manner in which he faces his death will bear on their self--confidence and potential.

Over the next few weeks, Jefferson continues to write in his journal. In March, the governor of Louisiana sets the execution date for two weeks after Easter. As news of Jefferson’s impending death spreads through the town, more and more people begin to visit him. Young children and old men, strangers and friends, all come to -Jefferson’s cell to speak to him. The onslaught of attention makes Jefferson begin to understand the enormity of the task that Grant has given him. He realizes that he has become much more than an ordinary man and that his death will represent much more than an ordinary death. Elated by Jefferson’s progress, Grant nevertheless dreads the execution day, when that progress will be tested.Grant cannot bring himself to attend the execution, for he has grown very close to Jefferson. At the time the execution is scheduled to take place, he orders his students to kneel by their desks in honor of Jefferson. He steps outside the classroom, distressed and bewildered. He knows he should have attended the execution. A few minutes later, a deputy comes down from the courthouse and informs Grant that the execution is over. He assures Grant that Jefferson was the bravest man in the room that morning. Grant looks out over the town, numb and heavyhearted, and discovers that he is crying.

Characters
Grant Wiggins - The protagonist and narrator of the novel, an elementary school teacher in his mid-twenties. Grant is intelligent and willful, but also somewhat hypocritical and depressed. A life spent in a segregated, racist community has made him bitter. He has no faith in himself, his society, or his church. He does not believe anything will ever change and thinks escape is the only option. He fears committing himself to a fight he cannot win. This defeatist attitude makes him shun responsibility, and he resents Tante Lou and Miss Emma for forcing him to help Jefferson. Over the course of the novel, however, he learns to accept responsibility for his own life, for his relations with other people, and for his role as an educator and agent of change in his needy community

Jefferson - A sincere, sensitive, young black man of below-average intelligence. When his lawyer calls him a “hog,” Jefferson takes the insult to heart and begins to consider himself powerless in the white-dominated society. He becomes sullen and withdrawn, accepting a living death and therefore becoming a dark symbol of his oppressed people. Grant attempts to heal Jefferson’s pain. He believes that Jefferson can stop symbolizing the troubles of the black community and start symbolizing positive change.

Reverend Ambrose - The fiery, self-righteous leader of the black quarter’s religious community, and Grant’s primary foil in the novel. Reverend Ambrose believes that true faith in God shields the believer against oppression. Ambrose believes that Grant is foolish for forsaking his religion and that Grant will have a sinful influence on Jefferson. Jefferson connects only with Grant, and the Reverend cannot convince Grant to attempt to save Jefferson’s soul. In his conversations with Grant, the Reverend reveals his belief that lying is a necessary component of survival, especially for Southern blacks struggling to live. Vivian - Grant’s beautiful, loving, and intelligent girlfriend. Vivian is a schoolteacher at the black Catholic school in Bayonne. She is married and has two children, but is in the process of divorcing her husband. She wants to hide her relationship with Grant for fear her husband will use it to justify taking the children away from her. She distrusts Grant because, in his self-centered way, he pressures her to forsake her community. Matthew Antoine - Grant’s primary school teacher and predecessor as the quarter’s schoolteacher. Antoine dies before the events in the novel begin, but his influence on Grant is felt throughout the novel. His defeated, resentful cynicism contributed to Grant’s bitterness. Sheriff Guidry - An authoritarian man who runs the prison in Bayonne. Guidry resents anyone who trespasses on his domain, especially blacks like Grant and Miss Emma. He provides blacks with a modicum of freedom and opportunity while maintaining an overarching, white authoritarian superstructure. Paul - The sheriff’s deputy at the Bayonne jail, he is the only white in the novel who truly sympathizes with the black struggle in the South. Henri Pichot - A stubborn white man with a sense of duty, he owns the plantation where Grant spent his childhood. Pichot is not a bad man, but he enjoys his position of power in the quarter. He cherishes the status quo because it allows him to feel superior to people. Like many of his white peers, he causes harm simply by his unwillingness to change.

Themes
Recognizing Injustice and Facing Responsibility Grant often criticizes his society. He bitterly resents the racism of whites, and he cannot stand to think of Jefferson’s unjust conviction and imprisonment. For most of the novel, however, he does nothing to better his lot. He sarcastically claims that he teaches children to be strong men and women despite their surroundings, but he is a difficult, angry schoolmaster. Grant longs to run away and escape the society he feels will never change. Like Professor Antoine, he believes no one can change society without being destroyed in the process.

Symbols
The Notebook The notebook represents Jefferson’s reconnection with his humanity, a reconciliation facilitated by Grant. By writing down his thoughts, Jefferson reflects upon his position in an unjust world and begins to think seriously about his life. The notebook also symbolizes the reciprocal friendship between Grant and Jefferson. Grant gives Jefferson the notebook, symbolizing his desire to teach Jefferson and help Jefferson teach himself. Jefferson writes in the notebook as if writing a letter to Grant, which suggests that Jefferson looks to Grant for guidance even when alone in his cell. Finally, the notebook symbolizes hope for future collaboration not just between blacks, but between blacks and whites—for Paul, the white deputy, delivers the book to Grant and asks to shake Grant’s hand.

Significant Quotes
1. What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.

In Chapter 1, Jefferson’s defense attorney asks the jury to spare -Jefferson’s life by implying it would be cruel to kill a man no more intelligent or moral than a hog. He voices the ugly belief, held by many whites, that blacks are animals. Jefferson becomes haunted by the idea and begins acting like a hog, angrily refusing to talk and rooting through his food. Miss Emma realizes the impact the attorney’s words have on Jefferson and makes it her business to ensure Jefferson dies like a man, not like an animal. When Jefferson decides to die with dignity, he shakes off the jeering stereotypes pinned on him by whites. Furthermore, because the attorney expressed a stereotype about blacks held by many whites, when Jefferson acts nobly he acts on behalf of an entire oppressed community.

2. It doesn’t matter anymore. Just do the best you can. But it won’t matter.

Matthew Antoine, Grant’s primary school teacher, was a defeated, bitter man whose attitude affected Grant’s perception of Southern society. In Chapter 8, Grant recalls visiting Antoine on his deathbed and hearing him say these words. Grant thought he could change things for the better through his teaching, and Antoine disagreed, saying even Grant’s best efforts would fail. Antoine’s belief in black failure has a firm basis in fact, for his society does make it nearly impossible for blacks to succeed. However, the belief also stems from his own racism. Antoine is of mixed race and frankly admits that he feels superior to blacks and inferior to whites. He also admits these notions of superiority are not natural, but created by society. Still, he suggests that after your own inferiority gets drummed into your head, it no longer matters if you are actually inferior or only treated as if you are.

Grant resists Antoine’s defeatism at first, but by the time the novel begins he has come to embrace it. He believes, like Antoine, that society forces blacks in the South to fail and that the efforts of one man can do nothing to change things. He also begins to feel that failure is inherent in blacks themselves, that it is not simply the effect of an oppressive system.