In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, the main character, Grant Wiggins gives a man meaning in his last days alive. Wiggins gives him a book to write his thoughts in, and helps him to realize that he is not a “hog.” He shows him that he is truly a good person, and that he should die with his head up, knowing that he led a worthy and honest life. Mr. Wiggins changed greatly through the story, from a cold school teacher to an open hearted and caring man. This helped his relationship with others as well as Jefferson. Through his changing, he became the one man that Jefferson could trust.
In a rural town in Louisiana in the late 1940's a poorly educated young black man, Jefferson, is in the wrong place at the wrong time: he is in a bar with two friends when they murder the white bartender. Jefferson is unfairly convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair by a white judge and jury. His defense lawyer, in an attempt to ward off the death sentence, labels him a "hog"--and it is this label that Jefferson's godmother wants disproved. She enlists the help of a plantation school teacher, Grant Wiggins, who at first isn’t too keen on the idea of helping a crook. Wiggins agrees to talk with Jefferson only out of a sense of duty--he is an unhappy, angry man who dreamt of escape from his deprived childhood yet returned to his hometown after a university education to teach in the same one-room parish school he attended. Despite humiliation at the hands of the white sheriff, Jefferson's lack of cooperation, and his own sense of futility and uncertain faith, Wiggins forges a bond with Jefferson that leads to wisdom and courage for both. At first, Jefferson sees himself as a hog, and nothing but a hog.
It takes Wiggins much time and strength to convince him that he should live his last days with pride and dignity. Jefferson looks at the entire situation as his fault and will only do what Miss Emma and Tante Lou see fit for him to do. “If that’s what they want, Jefferson said.” “No, not what they want; what you want, says Grant”…“If that’s what they want, I’m go’n die anyhow, says Jefferson.”(p.135)
Wiggins begins his teaching as he has taught for years, which is not allowing it to change his life.
In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American man named Jefferson is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and, as the only survivor, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, the defense attorney had called him an uneducated hog as an effort to have him released, but the jury ignored this and sentenced him to death by electrocution anyways. Appalled by this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, asks the sheriff if visitations by her and the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, would be possible to help Jefferson become a man before he dies. The sheriff agrees, and Miss Emma and Mr. Wiggins begin visiting Jefferson in his jail cell. Throughout the book, Jefferson has two seemingly opposite choices in front of him; become a man, and make his godmother and other relatives proud by dying with dignity, or, remain in the state of a hog with the mentality that nothing matters because he will die regardless of his actions. The choices Jefferson is faced with, and the choice he makes, highlights the book’s idea of having dignity ...
Mapes, the white sheriff who traditionally dealt with the black people by the use of intimidation and force, finds himself in a frustrating situation of having to deal with a group of black men, each carrying a shotgun and claiming that he shot Beau Boutan. In addition, Candy Marshall, the young white woman whose family owns the plantation, claims that she did it. As each person tells the story, he takes the blame and, with it the glory.
APA (American Psychological Association) style is primarily used in the social science disciplines. It is formatted like MLA, and shows many similarities, but is unique in several key points.
It was a little bit harder for Jefferson to remember his commitment to his nannan and to the town. He had been charged with a crime he did not commit and didn’t know how to deal with it. They were asking a lot from a man who knew he was going to die soon."Me, Mr. Wiggins. Me. Me to take the cross. Your cross, nannan's cross, my own cross. Me, Mr. Wiggins. This old stumbling nigger. Y'all axe a lot, Mr. Wiggins." [p. 224] It takes a strong man to forget about yourself and do something for someone else when your in the position that Jefferson is in. It took a while; but Jefferson did what had to be done, in the end.
society's approval, etc. He is one of the few who tries to fight the power
Do you ever have one of those days when you remember your parents taking away all of your baseball cards or all of your comic books because you got a bad grade in one of your classes? You feel a little depressed and your priced possession has been stolen. This event is the same as August Wilson’s, The Piano Lesson. The story is about a sibling rivalry, Boy Willie Charles against Berniece Charles, regarding an antique, family inherited piano. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano in order to buy the same Mississippi land that his family had worked as slaves. However, Berniece, who has the piano, declines Boy Willie’s request to sell the piano because it is a reminder of the history that is their family heritage. She believes that the piano is more consequential than “hard cash” Boy Willie wants. Based on this idea, one might consider that Berniece is more ethical than Boy Willie.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. N.p.: Vintage, 1994. Open Library. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
The Deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeare's Play Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 for an Elizabethan audience. It was set in Verona and Mantua in Italy. People of Shakespeare's time thought of Italy as immoral and famous for it sexual affairs and crime. The audience would have expected Romeo and Juliet to include affairs and violence but would still react shocked to the actions going on in the play, as even though it would be normal, because of the notorious rumours of Italy, the audience would be used to have a happy ending. When fate and inevitability are present in a storyline the audience feels pity for the characters and fear for what is going to happen.
wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” From
Alan Bennett’s play A Cream Cracker Under The Settee begins (and continues) with the monologue of Doris, the seventy-five years old widow. She appears alone onstage which automatically highlights her, and gives her importance. Having only one character present will inevitably draw the attention to them, which attention might remain until the end of the play despite knowing whether or not she will continue being the only
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”-MLK Jr. In the book A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the relationship between a student and a teacher in Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940s, and how their actions affect the society they are living in. Jefferson, a young black man, is accused of a murder, and is sentenced to death because of his race. Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, wants Grant Wiggins, an educated black teacher to “make him a man” before Jefferson dies. Even though Grant was reluctant that it would amount to anything, but he gave his word that he would try, and soon after a couple of visits to the jail, Grant starts to develop a bond with Jefferson. As the book progresses, Jefferson learns that you need to take responsibility for your own actions, you should always be humble, one should never submit their dignity no matter the circumstances, and always remember that even heroes are not perfect.
The subject of death and dying can cause many controversies for health care providers. Not only can it cause legal issues for them, but it also brings about many ethical issues as well. Nearly every health care professional has experienced a situation dealing with death or dying. This tends to be a tough topic for many people, so health care professionals should take caution when handling these matters. Healthcare professionals not only deal with patient issues but also those of the family. Some of the controversies of death and dying many include; stages of death and dying, quality of life issues, use of medications and advanced directives.
Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.
Jesus was a special man, just as today, we do not have to know the
The story Paper by Catherine Lim shows how greed can destroy a family and a persons life. The whole family was looking forward o their dream house. Lim, the wife would talk about it for hours to her sister & the kids would tell their cousins and friends all about it as well. Tay Soon, the father nurtured the idea until it became a consuming passion of his and his familys lives. They dream about it, they hanker after it like an addict after his opiate. It had become a reality stronger than the reality of the (real) terrace house (that they shared with Soons mom)(50). They talked about the house so much that they forgot about the house that they were living in. Suddenly the house wasnt good enough for them. The family just gets greedy because of all the money that was coming in from Tay Soon and LIm's jobs. Both of them had a good amount of money saved in the savings account. But not enough to pay for the down payment of the house. At the same time, the interest rate on the stocks went up. The quotation of stocks and shares were climbing the charts. When Lim came to know about it, she asked her husband to invest some money in the market to pay for the house. Lim says, the temptation is great and the reward is almost immediate(52). They need money for the house, quick. They see the rate go up and think of all the money they can make which would make them rich overnight.