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The author, Ernest J. Gaines, published A Lesson Before Dying in 1993. The novel is fiction but still based on the true story of Willie Francis. In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, a man named Jefferson is accused of murder when he is simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Grant Wiggins, who is a teacher at the church for black students, is called upon to help turn his “hog” into a man but he finds out it may be harder than it seems.
To help Jefferson understand himself, Grant gives him a notebook and a pencil so he can write his thoughts down. It seems as if Grant’s decision to help Jefferson also helps himself and his family as well as he finds out what it means to be a man. He helps this man to become more of a man than he ever will but still doesn't help Jefferson from escaping his execution date.
The character chosen from A Lesson Before Dying is Grant and he is an important character who makes a decision that changes everything about how Jefferson acts at the end of the book.
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“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”
He brings Jefferson a notebook and a pencil for him to write his thoughts in. This greatly affects the novel because it gives us a little bit of an idea of what he was feeling and what his opinions were, as well as how he saw things. “Sometimes at night - sometimes when you’re thinking about something and may not be able to remember it when I come back - I was thinking maybe I could bring you a little notebook and a pencil.
You could write your thoughts down and we could talk about it when I come back.” (Ernest 185) This quote just tells us what Grant wants in return for him bringing a notebook and a pencil for Jefferson. Grant wants to help understand Jefferson better and connect with him on a different level. As the novel continues and Jefferson writes in his notebook, he opens up and they both realize how important they are to each other and they both turned each other into men. “good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man good by mr wigin im gon ax paul if he can bring you this sincerely jefferson.” (Ernest 234) This quote shows just what Jefferson thought of himself in the end and was also saying that Grant had accomplished his goal to turn him into a man. In the end, he didn’t think of himself as a hog anymore and he knew he was strong.
There are so many times in life where I look back at all of the things myself and others have done that not only impact them, but also the community around them. For example, I am a Sunday School teacher at my church. This helps the kids to learn about their religion and also broadens my horizon as a person, letting knowledge in young students. I feel that this personal choice is similar to the choice from the novel because they both impact others positively and allow for knowledge to be let into others. These are also different because the notebook given to Jefferson I believe was life-changing rather than my choice, which doesn’t involve someone dying. I like to think that my decision to become a Sunday School teacher has made me a better person. Something I have learned from being a Sunday School teacher is it is important to be there for people so they can learn about things. “This was my first visit since I’d given him the notebook and pencil, and I could see that the lead on the pencil was worn down to the wood. I could also see that he had used the eraser a lot.” (Ernest 220) This tells us that Jefferson was writing down a lot of what he was feeling, which means that he was feeling a lot if the pencil given to him was already worn down. Like I have previously said, without the notebook given to Jefferson by Grant, things would have ended differently in the novel. Another example from my life that also shows this is if I would have made the decision to not become a Sunday School teacher, my life would be a little different. I would not be encouraging young kids to learn about their religion and improve their spiritual health. In addition, I would not feel the way I do when I am helping kids to learn. I love teaching them about something important to me and I hope that this will make them want to continue their journey.
Lastly, without the notebook and pencil given to Jefferson by Grant, we would not know his point of view or his thoughts. Grant’s decision to help Jefferson resulted in Grant giving him a notebook and pencil to help him cope. Like I said before, the notebook helped Jefferson to open up and allow, not only Jefferson to become a man, but Grant to become a man as well. I feel that it is very important to make connections in your lives. It helps us to realize what may some of our strengths and weaknesses are and where we might need to improve and grow. I personally like to make connections about my mental health often, to keep myself in check and happy. When I am happy, others are usually happy too and it is important that everyone knows this.
How to Teach A Lesson Before Dying?. (2020, Oct 01). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/how-to-teach-a-lesson-before-dying-essay
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