What if you were sentenced to death for a crime you did not commit? What if you were then proclaimed to be a hog by a jury of your peers? What if you had 5 months to learn to grow from the hog you are said to be, to a man so that you are able to stand tall and walk to your death on your own two legs with your head held high? What would you learn? These questions are the central conflict of the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. This book takes place on a plantation in the deeply racist state of Louisiana in the 1940s, where a black man named Jefferson is sentenced to death by means of the electric chair by an all-white jury for a murder that he did not commit. Jefferson’s white lawyer’s only defense is that Jefferson, being a black man, is a hog and was therefore not capable of planning the murder. Jefferson, with the help of a local quarter teacher named Grant Wiggins, must learn to be a man in the little time he has left. Throughout the book, Jefferson learns to take responsibility for his actions, sacrifice himself for others, and have dignity in the face of injustice in order to find strength to face the electric chair and thereby change his community forever. First, Jefferson learns to accept responsibility for his actions. Although he was wrongly accused, Jefferson admits he made a mistake by getting in the car with Brother and Bear and he takes responsibility for his mistake. In his diary, Jefferson writes “i aint had no bisnes goin ther wit brother an bear cause they aint no good an im gon be meetin them soon [in heaven or hell],”(Gaines 233). In this quote, Jefferson admits to himself that he should not have been with brother and bear and accepts responsibility for his decision to be with them. Jefferson’s ... ... middle of paper ... ...ver, Jefferson having dignity allowed him to influence the world in a small way and forever affect the lives of Paul and Grant. When Jefferson learned to keep his dignity, even in the instant before he died, Jefferson was finally transformed into a man. Jefferson learned to take responsibility for his actions, sacrifice himself for others, and have dignity in the face of injustice. With these lessons, as well as with support from Grant, Jefferson was able to walk to the electric chair not on four legs as a hog, but on two legs as a proud black man, and by doing so, provide a symbol of hope, inspiration and strength that was enough to change his community forever. It is only when we find the dignity, sacrifice and responsibility within ourselves that we will recognize our true personal value and self-worth, and like Jefferson, be strong enough to change the world.
For Jefferson, racial injustice is present in court. Because of the color of his skin, Jefferson was automatically found guilty by those 12 men. “12 white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person, Justice?” (157) The jury that decided his sentence was made up of 12 white men. Jefferson’s trial was unfair because the verdict was made by all white men. Jefferson was really just at the wrong place at the wrong time, but the biased jury saw him as guilty before finding any real evidence. This scene from court is an example of how Jefferson is treated unfairly because of the way he is viewed by others.
The purpose of this essay is to compare three very similar cases, the Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and the fictional trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; and to prove why the defendant of the third trial never had a chance. Each took place in the rural South in the 1920’s and 30’s and involved the unfair conviction of young black males by all-white juries pressured by the threat of mob violence. Each lacked the evidence sufficient for conviction, most especially for the death penalty. Last, heroes emerged from each trial and made small but solid steps towards equal justice for all.
Thomas Jefferson was a plantation owner, politician, and verbal defender of slaves who would continuou...
Using his personal experience, persuasive arguments and a polite but firm tone, Banneker was able to offer Jefferson and unique and powerful perspective on the plight of the African Americans living both in captivity and freedom. By using Jefferson’s own words, he heightened the impact of his argument and could more easily point out his hypocrisy. By maintaining his tone throughout, he created the opening to continued discourse on this important subject matter. He knew he had to walk a fine line in his communication with someone in a position to make changes in this brand new
.guilty. . .guilty. . .guilty. . .” (211). By using only four guilty’s, Lee is able to demonstrate that the word of two white people has a greater effect than that of an African American even though the man who was put up for his life had not harmed, nor had he ever damaged anything he came into contact with.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two important men who affected our nations independence and the beginning years of our country. They helped form this nation into a free and sovereign country. Yet, they were different in many aspects they shared a few common features. Both Washington and Jefferson grew up in the southern state of Virginia and like most owned land to grow and harvest crops. In growing up they came from two different class levels of living. The Jefferson family was more famous and richer than Washington’s giving him a greater advantage and opportunity to succeed, especially in higher education. After Jefferson finished regular schooling he was able to attend the College of William and Mary were he studied law. He did so under the teaching of George Wthe who was considered perhaps the greatest teachers of law in Virginia at the time. Washington however was taught by his mom mainly in mathematics and received no higher education. Washington was still knowledgeable and began to put it to use in the army to become as a young British soldier. He interred the army at the young age of nineteen were he began to learn leadership and military strategy which would prove useful in the Revolutionary War to come. Jefferson on the other hand was involved in the laws, courts, and small politics. At the young age of twenty-five Jefferson was elected to the House of Burgesses in Virginia were he served for five years. Washington was known for his great motivational speeches that would rally troops together to prepare for war and lead on to victory. Jefferson was more of a writer not a speaker and by using his skill he wrote and brought forth fresh ideas of independence and freedom.
Thomas Jefferson is a well-known and respected man of American History. He was a legislator, president, a father, a spouse, a widow, an inventor, a plantation owner, and a slave owner. Many people fail to acknowledge the fact that, much like his fellow citizens, Jefferson too was a slave owner himself. In his life, he made so many accomplishments and strides of progress in the early days in favor of America, perhaps it is hard or unthinkable for some to believe that he was just an average man of his times. Similarly to many men of the time period, Jefferson also had sexual relations with one of his slaves. This relationship was reflective and consistent with Jefferson's views on slavery which were that of an abolitionist of sorts.
Ganes, Earnest J. A Lesson Before Dying? New York: Vintage Books, 1993. Genre: Novel. 256 pages Setting: The story is set in a small Cajun Louisiana town in the 1940’s. The setting in this story is significant because, the whole story is about how a young black boy is treated unfairly and sentenced to death because of something he did not do.
In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, Grant and Jefferson are black men in the era of a racist society; but they have struggles with a greater dilemma, obligation and commitment. They have obligations to their families and to the town they are part of. They lived in a town were everybody knew everybody else and took care of each other. "Living and teaching on a plantation, you got to know the occupants of every house, and you knew who was home and who was not.... I could look at the smoke rising from each chimney or I could look at the rusted tin roof of each house, and I could tell the lives that went on in each one of them." [pp. 37-38] Just by Grant’s words you can tell that that is a community that is very devoted to each other.
“As a boy, Thomas Jefferson’s was shy and often tongue-tied…Preferred the company of books to that of most people.” (Wilmore, 1) These were words to describe the young Jefferson; his childhood would prove to be a key in shaping the man, who through his words would change a nation. Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743, in Shadwell Virginia. During his childhood he would spend 15 hours each day reading and writing, this would prove to make his writing skills at a high level (1). As he grew into an adult he would study law in his home of Virginia at the William and Mary College at Williamsburg (Bottorff, 15). During this time he would become a member of the Whig party and would advocate for the rights and liberties of mankind (Peterson, 1). It was in his childhood and as turned into an adult which he learned how to write and how to express his political views through words. “For Thomas Jefferson, the pen truly was mightier than the sword. From his pen flowed some of the worlds most famous and influential words.” (Wilmore, 1) Truer words could not have been spoken about Jefferson’s because it was through his words which adv...
Firstly, Jefferson is an example of a person who never gave up. He is young black man that is sent to jail under the false charges of murdering. During the court session, he was referred to as a hog. This made him believe that the word “hog” defines him as a person. However, after a few long talks with Grant Wiggins he started to stand up for himself as a proud black person. We begin to see this happen when Jefferson did not refer
Race plays a large factor in showing how you are viewed in society. Although there is no longer slavery and separate water fountains, we can still see areas of our daily life clearly affected by race. One of these areas is the criminal justice system and that is because the color of your skin can easily yet unfairly determine if you receive the death penalty. The controversial evidence showing that race is a large contributing factor in death penalty cases shows that there needs to be a change in the system and action taken against these biases. The issue is wide spread throughout the United States and can be proven with statistics. There is a higher probability that a black on white crime will result in a death penalty verdict than black on black or white on black. Race will ultimately define the final ruling of the sentence which is evident in the racial disparities of the death penalty. The amount of blacks on death row can easily be seen considering the majority of the prison population is black or blacks that committed the same crime as a white person but got a harsher sentence. The biases and prejudices that are in our society relating to race come to light when a jury is selected to determine a death sentence. So what is the relationship between race and the death penalty? This paper is set out to prove findings of different race related sentences and why blacks are sentenced to death more for a black on white crime. Looking at the racial divide we once had in early American history and statistics from sources and data regarding the number of blacks on death row/executed, we can expose the issues with this racial dilemma.
According to his biography, Ernest J. Gaines grew up in Oscar, Louisiana on a plantation in the 1930s. He worked picking potatoes for 50 cents a day, and in turn used his experiences to write six books, including A Lesson Before Dying. While the novel is fictional, it is based on the hardships faced by blacks in a post Civil War South, under Jim Crow and 'de jure' segregation. In A Lesson Before Dying, the main story line is a sad tale in which a young black man named Jefferson, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death. Grant Wiggins, a teacher, is persuaded by Jefferson's grandmother Miss Emma to help Jefferson become a man before his execution. The struggle for Grant to get Jefferson to cooperate, and Grant's own internal development are the main plot-points; however, the background commentary on systems of racism is the main theme.
The struggles of Grant and Jefferson share a common theme, man’s search for meaning. Grant has the advantage of a college education, and while that may have provided some enlightenment, he remains in the same crossroads as Jefferson. Grant sees that regardless of what he does, the black students he teaches continue in the same jobs, the same poverty and same slave-like positions as their ancestors. Grant has no hope of making a difference and sees his life as meaningless. Though Jefferson’s conflict is more primal, it is the same as Grant’s struggle. Jefferson is searching for the most basic identity, whether he is man or animal. It is this conflict of meaning and identity that bring Grant and Jefferson together.
The second characteristic that shows society does not defeat Jefferson is Jefferson’s remaining strong compassion for everyone around him. This shows that through defeat, Jefferson remains a strong person by not holding any grudges against his incarcerators. A selection from his diary reads, “This was the firs time I cry when they lok that door bahind me the very firs time…I was cryin cause of the bok an the marble he giv me and cause o the people that com to see me” (231). Jefferson displays tenderness, which is an obvious sign that Jefferson has not let his imprisonment destroy him.