A Lesson Before Dying -Cliffs Notes (1999).pdf

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A LESSON BEFORE

DYING

NOTES

including

• Life and Background of the Author • Introduction to the Novel• A Brief Synopsis• List of Characters• Critical Commentaries

• Character Analyses• Critical Essays• Character Web

• Review Questions and Essay Topics• Selected Bibliography

by Durthy A. Washington M.Ed., University of Southern California, Los Angeles M.A., San Jose State University



ISBN 0-7645-8503-7© Copyright 1999

by

Cliffs Notes, Inc.All Rights Reserved

Printed in U.S.A.

1999 Printing

Editors

Gary Carey, M.A.University of Colorado

Greg Tubach

Project Editor

Kathleen M. Cox

The Cliffs Notes logo, the names “Cliffs” and “Cliffs Notes,” and

the black and yellow diagonal-stripe cover design are all

registered trademarks belonging to Cliffs Notes, Inc., and may

not be used in whole or in part without written permission.

Cliffs Notes, Inc. Lincoln, Nebraska



CONTENTS

Life and Background of the Author ................5

Introduction to the Novel ...............................6

A Brief Synopsis .............................................8

List of Characters ...........................................9

Critical Commentaries .................................12

Chapters 1-4 .................................................................12Chapters 5 & 6 .............................................................19Chapters 7 & 8 .............................................................22Chapters 9-12 ...............................................................24

Chapter 13-15 ...............................................................30Chapter 16 ...................................................................34Chapters 17 & 18 ..........................................................36Chapter 19 ...................................................................38Chapters 20 & 21 ..........................................................42Chapters 22 & 23 ..........................................................45

Chapters 24-26 .............................................................48Chapter 27 ...................................................................51Chapter 28 ...................................................................53

Chapter 29 ...................................................................55Chapter 30 ...................................................................57

Chapter 31 ...................................................................60

Character Analyses .......................................62

Critical Essays ...............................................71

Point of view, plot, and setting ......................................71

The pre-Civil Rights South ............................................72

Review Questions and Essay Topics ..............77

Selected Bibliography ...................................79

Center Spread: A Lesson Before Dying Character Web





A LESSON BEFORE

DYINGNotes

LIFE AND BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

Ernest James Gaines was born January 15, 1933, on River LakePlantation in Oscar, a small town in Pointe Coupee Parish, nearNew Roads, Louisiana. The oldest of twelve children, he wasraised by his great-aunt, Augusteen Jefferson, who provided the in-spiration for Miss Jane Pittman, as well as other strong black fe-male characters, such as Miss Emma and Tante Lou in Lesson.Gaines’ birthplace serves as the model for his fictional world of Bayonne and St. Raphael Parish. With the exception of his fourth

novel, In My Father’s House, all of Gaines’ fictional work is set inBayonne. Although he has spent much of his life since age fifteenin San Francisco, he writes exclusively about life in the South. Heis perhaps best known for his 1971 novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which was made into a TV movie and won severalEmmys. In May 1999, HBO debuted its made-for-television movieof A Lesson Before Dying .

Growing up in Louisiana and attending rural schools, Gaines

began working in the fields, earning fifty cents a day, when he waseight years old. In 1945, he started attending St. Augustine MiddleSchool for Catholic African-American children, in nearby NewRoads, Louisiana, and became active in staging plays for the localchurch. Gaines left Louisiana in 1948 to join his motherand step-father in Vallejo, California. In 1949, he wrote an early version of his novel Catherine Carmier and submitted it to a New York pub-lisher, who rejected it. Following high school graduation in 1951,

he attended and graduated from Vallejo Junior College (1953). Hethen served two years in the United States Army.

Gaines is a graduate of San Francisco State College (nowUniversity) and pursued advanced studies at Stanford University.He holds several honorary degrees and has received numerous lit-erary awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the LouisianaLibrary Association Award, the Black Academy of Arts and Letters

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Award, and the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius”award. He is a member of the National Academy of Arts and

Letters and the Chevalier Order of Arts and Letters, France’s high-est literary honor. His works have been translated into several lan-guages, including French, Japanese, Chinese, German, Norwegian,and Russian.

Although Gaines resists being categorized as a “black” or“Southern” writer, he believes that “much of our [African-American] history has not been told; our problems have been told,as if we have no history.” Consequently, his novels provide a chron-

icle of American history from a black (Afrocentric) perspective. Arecurring theme throughout Gaines’ fiction is the search for dignityand masculine identity in a hostile, racist environment. As he pointsout in an interview, “The major conflict in my work is when theblack male attempts to go beyond the line that is drawn for him.”Although he consistently celebrates the pride and dignity of AfricanAmericans, he has often been criticized by black writers who feelthat his works do not adequately portray the harsh realities of black

life. During the late 1960s, at the height of the Black Arts/BlackPower movement, Gaines was severely criticized by Black Power ad-vocates for refusing to become emotionally involved in the CivilRights movement. Convinced that “a writer should be as detached asa heart surgeon is from his work,” Gaines refused to be swayed byhis critics. In a 1993 interview, reflecting on that turbulent era, he re-marked, “When Bull Connor turned the hoses on the marchers, I justsaid to myself, ‘Write a better paragraph.’”

INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

A Lesson Before Dying is a deceptively simple novel thatexplores numerous complex themes. Like Albert Camus’ TheStranger, which also explores a prison experience, albeit from the prisoner’s point of view, its stark simplicity and spare language be-

lie a complex and profound book. Gaines uses harsh (or austere)language to reflect the spiritual and personal alienation of humansin the twentieth century. Through Grant Wiggins’ emotionally de-tached account of Jefferson’s trial at the beginning of the book, werecognize that something about the main character is out of the or-dinary. The novel chronicles Grant’s role in Jefferson’s mental and

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spiritual transformation from a person beaten down by the system,exhibiting apathy and anger, to a man with a sense of passion and

purpose, exhibiting dignity and strength. By helping Jefferson tri-umph over his dehumanized existence, Grant is also transformed.As a result, Grant regains his hope in humanity and his faith in hisown ability to make a difference, with the promise of a future as abetter teacher who can pass his hard-won lesson on to his studentsand more positively influence their lives.

On the surface, the novel is the story of one man’s struggle to ac-cept death with dignity while another man struggles with his own

identity and responsibility to his community. But on a deeper level,it explores the process of an oppressed, dehumanized people’s at-tempt to gain recognition of their human dignity, acknowledgmentof their human rights, and freedom to pursue their dreams. Gaines’manipulation of time, focusing on the day-by-day struggles of ordi-nary people, is a definitive structural element in the novel.

Unlike many black American writers, Gaines focuses on a cul-tural perspective of time that views history from an Eastern

(Afrocentric) view, as opposed to a Western (Eurocentric) view. The primary difference between these two perspectives is the defini-tion of time as it impacts our view of the past, present, and future.Viewed from the Eurocentric perspective, history is a series of “sig-nificant events” that document the accomplishments of “heroes.”Time is a commodity that, like money, can be spent, saved, lost,and managed. Time consists of the past, present, and future, eachseparated by distinct barriers; death is the end of life. Viewed from

the Afrocentric perspective, however, history is a series of individ-ual and collective stories that document the accomplishments of everyday people. According to this view, time is a continuum. Likean endless river, it cannot be controlled, contained, or manipu-lated. Time consists of the past and present; events that have not yet occurred exist in a separate realm of “no time.” All elements of time are interconnected; death is part of life. In this context, Jefferson’s death with dignity becomes even more of a validationof his life and the lives of his community, despite the indignitiessuffered while living.

Some black historians point out that white male historians havetoo long defined history as a series of significant events (occurrencesthat are meaningful or symbolic for a person, group, or culture).

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This point of view implies that the events selected for inclusion bymembers of the dominant culture are significant to all people.

Consequently, black history has been virtually excluded from U.S.history texts because white male writers and historians did not con-sider the accomplishments of blacks significant.

In Lesson, Jefferson’s execution is a significant event in theblack community. His impending death has a profound impact onthe people in the quarter — from the students at Grant’s school, tothe members of Rev. Ambrose’s church, to the patrons of theRainbow Club. By focusing on the Afrocentric view of history,

Gaines emphasizes the worth and dignity of everyday heroes like Jefferson, an uneducated black field worker, and Grant Wiggins,an educated black man whose education makes no difference tothe white community, which treats him the same way that it treatsuneducated blacks. Grant’s education, however, makes him moreaware of the disrespect toward blacks by the white community;thus, it is difficult for him to see how the education that he offershis students can have a positive impact on their lives. It is this re-

alization that causes Grant to question his own life and fantasize abetter future away from his home community rather than seek tocounteract the influences that have worn it down.

A BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Set in the fictional community of Bayonne, Louisiana, in the

late 1940s, A Lesson Before Dying tells the story of Jefferson, atwenty-one-year-old uneducated black field worker wrongfully ac-cused and convicted of the robbery and murder of a white man,and sentenced to death by electrocution. At his trial, Jefferson’scourt-appointed defense attorney argues that Jefferson lacks the in-telligence to plan a robbery, and that, even if he had been involvedin the killing, sentencing him to death would be like putting a hogin the electric chair. In spite of this so-called defense, the all-white

jury finds Jefferson guilty. To compound the horror of his situation, Jefferson internalizes the attorney’s racist depiction of him as adumb animal.

Determined that Jefferson will die with dignity, his godmother(“nannan”), Miss Emma, turns to Grant Wiggins, a black teacher atthe local plantation school, and asks him to teach Jefferson to be a

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man. Although convinced that there is nothing he can do, Grant re-luctantly agrees to visit Jefferson in jail. Over the next several

months, while Jefferson awaits execution, he and Grant forge abond that enables both men to regain their dignity, reconnect withtheir community, and learn “the importance of standing.”

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Jefferson

A twenty-one-year-old uneducated black field worker con-demned to die after being innocently involved in an armed robberyand shooting.

Alcee Gropé

The white storekeeper killed during the attempted robbery.

Brother and BearTwo young black men killed while attempting to rob Alcee

Gropé’s store.

Miss Emma (Emma Glenn)

Jefferson’s godmother; she is determined that Jefferson willdie with dignity.

Grant Wiggins

The narrator. A cynical, disillusioned teacher called upon to in-still a sense of pride and self-worth in Jefferson before hisexecution.

Tante Lou

Grant’s aunt and Miss Emma’s best friend.

Vivian Baptiste

Grant Wiggins’ Creole (mixed heritage of black and French orSpanish ancestry) girlfriend.

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Peggy

A fellow teacher; Vivian’s friend.

Miss Eloise Bouie

A friend of Miss Emma and Tante Lou.

Estelle

Jefferson’s cousin; one of Grant’s students.

Henri Pichot

The owner of the plantation that once employed Miss Emmaand Tante Lou as cook and housekeeper.

Inez Lane

Henri Pichot’s maid. Inez has replaced Miss Emma in Pichot’s

kitchen.

Louis Rougon

A friend of Henri Pichot. Rougon’s family owns a bank in St.Adrienne.

Sam Guidry

Sheriff of Bayonne County; Henri Pichot’s brother-in-law.

Edna Guidry

Sam’s wife and Henri Pichot’s sister.

Joe and Thelma Claiborne

Owners of the Rainbow Club, Grant and Vivian’s favorite

hangout.

Shirley

A waitress at the Rainbow Club.

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Irene Cole

Grant’s assistant/student teacher.

Matthew Antoine

Grant’s former teacher, known in the black community as “thebig mulatto from Poulaya.”

Mr. Farrell Jarreau

Henri Pichot’s yardman, handyman, and messenger.

Rev. Mose Ambrose

Pastor of the plantation church where Grant Wiggins teachesduring the week.

Dr. Joseph Morgan

The white school superintendent who reinforces the white supremacy myth by being more interested in the students’ teeth andhygiene than in their access to learning materials.

Paul Bonin

The young deputy at the county jail who befriends Grant and witnesses Jefferson’s execution.

Henry Martin

One of Jefferson’s fellow inmates.

Henry Louis and Amos Thomas

The two old men who deliver the first load of wood to Grant’sschool, marking the onset of winter.

Dr. Sid Gilroy

The white doctor whom Sheriff Guidry calls on to visit MissEmma.

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“Gruesome Gerty”

The portable electric chair brought into Bayonne from the

Angola State Penitentiary for Jefferson’s execution.

CRITICAL COMMENTARIES

CHAPTERS 1-4

Summary

The novel opens with a courtroom scene, as the narrator —later identified as Grant Wiggins, a black teacher at the local plan-tation school — recounts the trial of Jefferson, a twenty-one-year-old uneducated black man accused of robbery and murder.Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Jefferson is innocent,despite the circumstantial evidence that places him at the scene of the crime. Among those in attendance are Miss Emma, Jefferson’s

godmother, and Tante Lou, Grant’s aunt.During the course of the trial, held on a Friday morning, we

hear three different versions of what happened the night thatstorekeeper Alcee Gropé was killed. First, we hear Jefferson’sstory, as presented by (1) the narrator of the novel. Then, we hearthe story from the perspectives of (2) the prosecuting attorney andthat of (3) Jefferson’s court-appointed defense attorney. As part of his so-called defense strategy, Jefferson’s attorney refers to his

client as “it” and contends that this “thing” is incapable of knowingright from wrong and lacks the intelligence to have planned therobbery. In short, he attempts to convince the jury that Jefferson issimply an animal that acted on impulse, and that executing him would be like putting “a hog in the electric chair.” Despite this verydemeaning “defense,” the all-white jury finds Jefferson guilty of robbery and first-degree murder, and the judge sets Jefferson’s sen-tencing for the following Monday.

On Monday morning, Miss Emma and Tante Lou are back incourt, along with Rev. Mose Ambrose, the local pastor. When Jefferson is brought before the judge and asked if he has anythingto say prior to his sentencing, he hangs his head and declines tospeak. The judge sentences him to death by electrocution, with thedate to be set by the governor.

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Upon returning home from school Monday afternoon, Grantfinds Miss Emma in the kitchen with Tante Lou. Hoping to avoid

them, he hurries to his room and pretends to be engrossed ingrading papers, but his aunt follows him and chides him for notspeaking to her friend. When he goes to meet Miss Emma, Grantfinds her gazing absently into space, still in apparent shock over Jefferson’s trial and angry about the attorney’s reference to hergodson as a “hog.”

Despite his protests, the two women persuade Grant to takethem to see Henri Pichot, their former employer, hoping that

Pichot will persuade his brother-in-law, the sheriff, to allow Grantto visit Jefferson. Grant tries to convince the women that their planis futile, but they refuse to listen to his advice.

Upon arriving at Pichot’s mansion, they proceed to the backdoor, where they are greeted by the maid, Inez Lane. While Inez isin the library with Pichot, Grant looks around the kitchen and re-calls that, as a child, he used to help Miss Emma and Tante Lou asthey worked in this kitchen for the elder Pichots. His reverie is in-

terrupted when Pichot enters, followed by his friend, LouisRougon. Miss Emma greets the men, then presents her case toPichot, reminding him of her years of devoted service to his family.Astonished by her tenacity and persistence, Pichot reluctantlyagrees to talk to his brother-in-law. Before leaving, Miss Emma as-sures him that she will be back the following day for his answer.

That evening, Grant heads for the Rainbow Club in the nearbytown of Bayonne, where he is greeted by the club’s proprietors, Joe

and Thelma Claiborne. He orders a drink and dinner, then calls hisgirlfriend, Vivian Baptiste, and asks her to meet him at the club.When she arrives, they dance and discuss the day’s events. Vivianagrees that he should visit Jefferson.

Commentary

The novel’s opening line — “I was not there, yet I was there” —

illustrates Gaines’ deceptively simple writing style. Although thisdeclarative statement uttered by the nameless narrator seems toexpress a simple fact, it speaks volumes. The phrase introduces theironies and contradictions that pervade the novel, in which thingsare not always what they seem, and “truth” is a highly subjectiveconcept. It also gives us a glimpse into the narrator’s psyche.

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Without knowing anything about him, we sense that he is cynical,indifferent, and detached, and that the story he is about to tell is so

familiar to him, he knows the ending by heart. What’s more, wesense that the narrator’s background and experience have led himto view life as a series of routine, predictable events over which hehas little or no control.

Chapter 1 also introduces the reader to another aspect of Gaines’ compact writing style: his use of metaphor and allusion.For example, the narrator depicts Jefferson’s godmother as “a greatstone” and a tree stump, suggesting that Miss Emma embodies the

innate strength and endurance necessary to survive in a hostile en-vironment. While the “great stone” symbolizes power and stability,the stump suggests tenacity and perseverance (someone who clingsto life despite having been “cut down” and denied the opportunityto flourish and grow).

But Gaines goes even further. While Miss Emma’s “immobility”implies that her movements have been severely restricted, it also al-ludes to the old Negro spiritual “I Shall Not Be Moved” and to the

biblical image of Jesus as the “rock” of salvation. (We later discoverthat both Miss Emma and Tante Lou are devoutly religious.)

Neither the stone nor the stump, however, possesses the powerof language, a concept that is central to the novel as Grant and Jefferson struggle to find a way to connect and communicate witheach other. Note, for example, that in Chapter 1 we hear three dif-ferent versions of what happened on the night of Alcee Gropé’smurder: the narrator’s, the prosecuting attorney’s, and the defense

attorney’s. We do not hear the story from Jefferson, who is, in ef-fect, denied the right to speak. Like most blacks of that time, heis not given a voice in his own fate and must learn to find the words to express his humanity. (Gaines has said that he uses anarrator who reports events as others reveal them as one device toget inside his characters’ heads without his resorting to omni-scient, third-person narration.) Note also that while the climax of the courtroom scene appears to be the jury’s verdict, for MissEmma, the defining moment is the defense attorney’s reference to Jefferson as a “hog.” Who speaks, who is spoken to, and who lis-tens to what is being said are critical aspects in learning the vari-ous lessons imparted throughout the novel. Readers should alsonote the use of regional dialect, blues language, and black vernacu-lar, as well as the forms of address used to identify characters

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(“boy,” “sir,” “Mr.” “nannan,” and “ professor”), which often revealthe characters’ perceived position in the social hierarchy, identify

their race or ethnicity, or provide other clues as to their status inthe community.

Also significant is the defense attorney’s closing argument in which he refers to Jefferson as “a boy,” “a fool,” “a cornered ani-mal,” and “a thing to hold the handle of a plow” and urges the juryto note “the shape of this skull, this face as flat as the palm of myhand, . . . those eyes [without] a modicum of intelligence.” Jefferson not only accepts this degrading image of himself, but he

internalizes it. In short, the attorney’s reference to Jefferson as a“hog” is much more than a cruel insult; it is a classic example of de-humanizing language that symbolizes the attitude of racist whitestoward blacks.

In his controversial book Up From Slavery, Booker T.Washington recounts a conversation with an elderly black manthat illustrates the devastating psychological damage this type of language had on many enslaved blacks: “He said he had been born

in Virginia and sold into Alabama in 1845. I asked him how many were sold at the same time. He said, ‘There were five of us: myself and brother and three mules.’”

To justify the “ peculiar institution” of slavery, racist whites of-ten pointed to the biblical story of Ham, Noah’s youngest son.According to this story, Noah cursed Ham and his descendants tobe “servant[s] of servants” because Ham saw his father naked. TheBible also lists “the swine” (pigs and hogs) among the animals des-

ignated as “unclean.”To further rationalize the enslavement of black Africans, racist

whites created the myth of white supremacy, which depicts blacksas subhuman creatures without souls. Bred to be beasts of burden,blacks were noted for their brute strength and usually depicted ashappy, childlike creatures of limited intelligence who needed firmdiscipline from whites. Perceived as devious, untrustworthy, andsexually promiscuous, they were portrayed as dirty, ugly creatures with an objectionable body odor.

Viewed in these contexts, we can begin to see why being re-ferred to as a “hog” has such a devastating impact on Jefferson andMiss Emma. We can also begin to understand why Miss Emma’sinsistence that her godson be allowed to die like a man is such a

15



powerful issue. Although she has lived under the white racist de-valuation of black people, she does not accept it, relying on her

faith in God and in human dignity.Given this knowledge, we can readily see the blatant fallacies

used in the defense attorney’s attempt to demonstrate that Jefferson does not meet the criteria of manhood. We realize thatthe criteria that the defense attorney cites have no bearing on Jefferson’s reality. As critic Charles E. Wilson, Jr., has pointed out,“Why would Jefferson know the size of his clothes when he cannoteven try on clothes in a department store? Why would he know the

months of the year, when his existence in rural Louisiana is depen-dent not on the calendar year, but on the generic planting season?”We realize that in a society that denies them basic human rights,both Grant and Jefferson must seek alternate ways to establish andexpress their manhood.

In this chapter we see another defining aspect of Gaines’ writ-ing style: his use of repetition, a defining characteristic of bluesmusic. Note, for example, the repetition of words such as “stand-

ing,” “solitary,” “now,” and “hog,” all of which underscore keythemes that resonate throughout the novel.

Gaines also explores the fine line between fantasy and reality.For example, the setting, characters, and circumstances associated with the night of the shooting — the White Rabbit Bar and Lounge(an allusion to Alice in Wonderland ) and the names “Brother” and“Bear” (allusions to the Br’er Rabbit folktales popular throughoutthe South during the early 1900s) — create a surreal atmosphere

that infuses the entire incident with an eerie, dreamlike quality.Chapter 2, which focuses on Miss Emma’s determination that

Jefferson will go to his death “on his own two feet,” illustrates herstubborn pride and fierce love for her godson. (Considering thatgenerally only members of the immediate family are permitted tovisit prisoners, Miss Emma’s insistence that Grant be allowed tovisit Jefferson also reflects her courage and commitment to fight forher family.) Likewise, Grant’s reluctance to get involved and his in-sistence that nothing can be done to help Jefferson illustrate Grant’sapathy and alienation from his community. Meanwhile, the brief conversation between Grant and Miss Emma demonstrates the dif-ference in their perspectives. Grant is willing to resign himself tothe situation and accept the inevitable outcome, acknowledging

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what he sees as a death of black manhood— another theme in thisbook. “I can’t raise the dead,” he says, intimating that Jefferson has

been dying over the last twenty-one years. There is also the sug-gestion of the death of Grant’s faith in God and in himself. MissEmma, however, embraces life and is determined to do what shecan to effect a change. What’s more, she is confident that Grantcan make Jefferson a man because, as she points out matter-of-factly, “You the teacher.” Here again, Gaines uses a simple, directstatement to express a complex concept. (As revealed in subse-quent chapters, Miss Emma’s remark lends itself to numerous in-

terpretations.) Note that Miss Emma assumes that the role of teacher automatically confers a measure of status and respect uponan individual and charges that individual with certain responsibili-ties to the community; Grant, however, sees himself as totally inef-fectual in a role that provides him with neither status nor respect.

In Chapter 3, Gaines uses various methods to illustrate that the past is alive in the present, and that the legacy of slavery still impacts black/white relationships. Grant is humiliated by having to

enter Pichot’s house through the back door and being forced to ad-dress Pichot as “sir.” Inez has replaced Miss Emma and Tante Louin Pichot’s kitchen, much as the new appliances have replaced theold. But although slavery has been outlawed for more than eightdecades, Henri Pichot and Louis Rougon still expect blacks to beservile and subservient. No one offers Miss Emma or Tante Lou achair or a glass of water. Pichot clearly dominates the conversa-tion, and both he and Rougon seem astonished when Miss Emma

insists on an answer to her request after Pichot signals that theconversation is over. In short, the interchange prompted by the en-counter between Pichot and Miss Emma represents the uneasy re-lationship that remains between the races. (Miss Emma’s emphasison all the work she has done for Pichot’s family with little of herown to show for it symbolizes all that blacks have done to helpbuild this country without fulfillment of the Constitutional pledgeof equal rights and basic human dignity.)

Chapter 3 also introduces two more of the key themes that res-onate throughout the novel: the language of silence and the con-cept of food as a source of physical and spiritual nourishment (foodequals love). Much of the communication between Miss Emmaand Henri Pichot, and between Grant and Tante Lou, takes place

17



through gestures, body language, and meaningful looks. (Note thefrequent references to a character’s eyes; eyes are often described

as “the windows of the soul.”) And when Grant tells his aunt thathe’ll “eat in town,” he acknowledges that “nothing could have hurther more when I said I was not going to eat her food.” In subse-quent chapters, Jefferson’s reaction to Miss Emma’s food providesa barometer of Jefferson’s progress toward accepting his full hu-manity. The chapter also demonstrates Gaines’ use of humor, as heintersperses humorous incidents (such as the description of thetwo women taking up the entire back seat of Grant’s car) against

the tragic circumstances surrounding Jefferson’s trial.One of the highlights of Chapter 4 is the description of

Bayonne, with its segregated churches, schools, and movie the-aters. Note that the railroad tracks form the major boundary be-tween Bayonne’s black and white communities; consequently,blacks literally live “across the tracks” from whites, what whites would probably call “the wrong side of the tracks.” (In African-American literature, however, trains often allude to the metaphori-

cal underground railroad that carried runaway slaves to freedom inthe North. They also suggest the great migration of rural Southernblacks seeking a better life in the urban North. Thus, railroads area symbol of hope, representing opportunity and choice.) Also notethat one of Bayonne’s major economic industries is a slaughter-house, “mostly for hogs,” and that the primary landmark for theblack community (from Grant’s perspective) is the Rainbow Club, with its “green, yellow, and red arched neon lights” (the colors of

the African Liberation Flag).Chapter 4 introduces more themes and symbols and clarifies

concepts introduced in previous chapters. For example, Grant’ssearch for a telephone emphasizes the themes of alienation andlack of communication between the black and whitecommunities — and within the black community itself. Note thatthere is no telephone in the quarter. Therefore, even if Jeffersonhad been able to place a call from Alcee Gropé’s store, whomcould he have called? Would he have been able to reach anyone?The chapter also emphasizes the difference between Grant’s andVivian’s value systems: while Vivian focuses on commitment,

Grant focuses on choice.

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(Here and in the following chapters, difficult words and phrases, as well as allusions and historical references, are clarified.)

• Keats, Byron, Scott John Keats, George Gordon Byron, and Sir WalterScott are nineteenth-century Romantic poets. The attorney implies thatsince Jefferson lacks a formal Eurocentric education, he is not a “civi-

lized” human being. This blatantly racist argument fails to note thatblacks had been legally denied the right to learn to read and write, oftenupon threat of death or disfigurement, and that even now they were de-nied the textbooks and other resources that could enable them to study

Western classics. Later in the book, we see the school superintendent

suggest that students earn money to buy toothbrushes —not books.

• We must live with our own conscience. The remark illustrates theirony of the situation: Southern whites often had no conscience con-cerning the fate of blacks, as illustrated by the defense attorney’s

argument.

• the quarter rows of cabins associated with designated plantations,

isolated from the larger world. The quarter served as a home for slaves

in the nineteenth century and the homes of sharecroppers in the twen-tieth century. The cabins had no electricity or running water until afterWorld War II.

• I need you speak for me. Miss Emma’s remark reflects the unwrit-

ten “code of silence” during the pre-Civil Rights South, when blacks were routinely denied the right to articulate their thoughts and feelings.This statement further reflects on the power of language as a recurringtheme. Note the irony here, as Miss Emma seems to have no problemspeaking for herself.

• parish the largest local administrative district in Louisiana. A parish

is the equivalent of a county in other states.

CHAPTERS 5 & 6

Summary

On Tuesday, the day after Jefferson’s trial, Grant is back at work at the plantation school. Irritated by his students’ lack of dis-cipline and motivation and his own inability to control his class,Grant dispenses his own brand of discipline. He rules with hisWestcott ruler and reduces his students to tears with his physical

19



discipline and his humiliating remarks. As a final ploy, he tellsthem — in graphic detail — about Jefferson’s impending execution.

At 2 P.M., Mr. Farrell Jarreau, Henri Pichot’s yardman, stops by totell Grant that Pichot will meet with him at five o’clock.

That evening, Grant arrives at Pichot’s mansion at ten minutesto five. He is kept waiting in the kitchen for two and a half hoursand learns, through Inez, that Louis Rougon is betting that Grantcan’t persuade Jefferson to “die like a man.” After enjoying aleisurely dinner, Sheriff Guidry, Henri Pichot, Louis Rougon, and a“fat man” (who remains nameless) meet with Grant to discuss

Jefferson’s situation. During their talk, the white men do their bestto humiliate Grant, and Sheriff Guidry tries to trick him into tak-ing sides in an alleged disagreement between him and his wifeabout the value of Grant’s visiting Jefferson, but Grant deftlyavoids this rhetorical trap. Finally, the sheriff tells him that he canstart visiting Jefferson “in a couple of weeks.”

Commentary

Chapter 5, which takes place at Grant’s school and illustratesthe interaction between Grant and his students, is a mirror imageof Chapter 6, which takes place at Pichot’s mansion and illustratesthe interaction between Grant and the white men. In effect, we seeGrant treating his students the same way that he is treated by the white men. In both cases, the interactions are marked by a blatantlack of respect and by a desire on the part of the so-called superior

individual(s) to humiliate their so-called inferiors.Chapter 5 opens with Grant and his students in the church- yard, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a ritual that is fraught withirony, given that there is no “liberty and justice” for blacks in theSouth. Adding to the irony is the white picket fence surroundingthe church, which suggests that the church is the students’“home.” Note the sensual language in the opening paragraph which enables us to see the smoke, hear the tractors, and feel the

cold air.We then follow the students inside and listen to them recite

their Bible verses, a ritual that has also become meaningless toGrant (and his students). By quoting several of the verses, Gainesexpresses his respect for these short, concise statements — for ex-ample, “ Jesus wept” — which convey the power he aims for in hisown spare writing style.

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Chapter 5 also introduces us to the plantation school and to therole of the black teacher. We learn that the school year consists of

only five and a half months, since the children are needed to workin the fields, and that Grant has taught at the school for six years.We learn that the school is an integral part of the community, andthat Grant knows the families of all his students. We also learn thathe is frustrated with his life and with his role as a teacher, and thathe feels he has little or no impact on his students’ lives.

As we watch Grant interact with his students, we begin toquestion his effectiveness as a teacher and his ability to turn

Jefferson into “a man.” We see that, instead of inspiring his stu-dents and instilling them with a hunger for knowledge and a re-spect for education, he ignites fear and hate and gives his studentslittle hope for a better future. Although Grant is aware of the prob-lems that the students must deal with at home, he has no empathyfor them and no sympathy for their individual hardships. And al-though he is aware of the violent world many of them will enter af-ter leaving his school, he beats his students, thus teaching violence

by example. Instead of seeking to motivate, he seeks to control. Heis cruel, impatient, and vindictive, taking out his personal frustra-tions on his students. In short, he perceives his students as being asinsignificant as a “little red bug” and demonstrates none of the ad-mirable qualities that Miss Emma attributes to him. Instead of seeking to change an intolerable system that kills his students’spirits, he perpetuates the system by his apathy and his perverserole modeling.

Farrell Jarreau’s visit highlights the irony of Grant’s situation.Although illiterate and uneducated (like Jefferson), Jarreau is a sur-vivor who epitomizes quiet dignity. He respects Grant as a teacherand, like Miss Emma, sees him as a leader of his community byvirtue of his profession. Jarreau’s pride in Grant as someone whohas achieved a major goal is evident, and the brief conversation be-tween Grant and Jarreau illustrates the polite, dignified behaviorthat one would expect to see among “civilized” men.

Note that Farrell Jarreau always addresses Grant as “ profes-sor,” just as Grant always addresses the handyman as “Mr. Farrell.”Historians note that “ professor” was used as a term of respect bySouthern blacks for any male teacher. Sometimes, it was also usedto refer to other talented or educated individuals, such as pianists

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or preachers. Here again, the context of language is key. Note, forexample, that when Henri Pichot refers to Grant as “ professor,” the

term is meant to mock and ridicule.Chapter 6, set in Henri Pichot’s mansion, illustrates the unciv-

ilized behavior of the white men toward Grant. Like Farrell Jarreau, Grant is forced to obtain his information “through an in-nate sense of things around him.” Marked by a thin veneer of civil-ity, the men do their best to humiliate Grant and “keep him in his place.” Seeing him in this situation, as he struggles not to appear“too smart,” we begin to understand his frustrations with his stu-

dents and his cynical view of life.The men obviously take pleasure in having Grant under their

control. Hoping that he will give up and go home, they force himto wait two and a half hours. When they finally meet with him,they have already made their decision. To amuse his friends,Sheriff Guidry tries to trick Grant into taking sides in an allegeddisagreement between him and his wife. Like Inez, Grant is ren-dered invisible. As he leaves Pichot’s mansion, Grant realizes that

helping Jefferson regain his manhood may mean compromising hisown dignity.

• sharecroppers people who worked land for a share of the crops, especially tenant farmers. In the South, black sharecroppers generally

lived in extreme poverty and were treated as little more than slaves by white landowners.

• I tried to decide just how I should respond to them. Whether Ishould act like the teacher that I was, or like the nigger that I wassupposed to be. As revealed in a subsequent chapter, Grant’s bitterremark echoes one of the “lessons” he learned from his teacher while he

was a student at the plantation school.

CHAPTERS 7 & 8

Summary

On Thursday, Dr. Joseph Morgan, a white man who is theschool superintendent, makes his annual visit to Grant’s school. Inaddition to drilling the students, he inspects their teeth, as if they were horses (or slaves). When Grant tries to tell Dr. Morgan that heneeds books and supplies, Dr. Morgan ignores his request, focus-ing instead on the need for student hygiene.

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The following week, the school receives its first load of wood,marking the beginning of winter. As he watches the men unload

the wood, Grant reminisces about his own school days and thinksabout his former teacher, Matthew Antoine, who advised him toleave Bayonne before it destroyed him.

Commentary

Dr. Morgan’s visit and the delivery of the first load of wood aretwo annual highlights of the school year and establish a sense of continuity for Grant and his students. The events emphasize thatlittle has changed over the years, and that Grant’s primary role asa teacher is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, MatthewAntoine, and maintain the status quo. Note, however, that these rit-uals are set against the backdrop of the grinding season, a ritualthat defines the rhythm of life for these poor Southern blacks. Notealso that Grant’s visits with Jefferson and Jefferson’s impendingexecution are about to disrupt the day-to-day rituals of both the

black community and the white community. Therefore, although Jefferson is imprisoned, he is destined to become a powerful cata-lyst for change.

In Chapter 7, Dr. Morgan’s visit illustrates the disparity be-tween black and white schools and the dismal lack of communica-tion between black teachers and white administrators. It alsoillustrates the institutional racism rampant in the Southern educa-tional system and the indifference of Southern whites to the plight

of black students and teachers.Dr. Morgan’s approach to the school is heralded by “a thickcloud of gray dust.” Later, as Grant watches Dr. Morgan inspectthe students’ teeth, he is reminded of how slave masters usedto inspect their slaves’ limbs and teeth. And although Grant re-sents Dr. Morgan’s callousness, he realizes there is nothing he cando about it. Here again, Gaines’ humor lends a welcome sense of comic relief to an otherwise painful situation — for example, note

the description of Dr. Morgan, who communicates largely in termsof grunts and groans; Dr. Morgan’s calling on the so-called worststudent in the class; Dr. Morgan’s lecture on “beans, beans, beans”;and his referring to Grant Wiggins as “Higgins,” a possible allusionto Professor Henry Higgins, who turns a slum girl into a “lady” inGeorge Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. The inability of the school superintendent to remember Grant’s name also reflects blacks’ loss

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of identity within the white community. Dr. Morgan does not re-ally see or hear Grant during the visit; rather, he sees and hears

only what he wants to.Chapter 8 provides us with another glimpse into Grant’s back-

ground. As he watches the two old men unloading the wood andthe young boys chopping and stacking it, he recalls doing the samething when he was a student, and he wonders if there is anythingthat he can do to break the cycle of poverty and violence which hasclaimed the lives of so many of his friends. He also recalls his for-mer teacher, Matthew Antoine, and wonders if he was wrong in

not taking Antoine’s advice to leave Bayonne.Antoine, the “big mulatto from Poulaya” who despised his

mixed blood and felt superior to anyone darker than he, illustratesthe problem of colorism in the black community, wherein someblacks themselves have advanced their status in their own mindsbased on having a lighter skin color in order to counteract the ef-fects of frequently having been conceived in rape and oppression.Because mulattos were often the children of enslaved black

women who had been raped by their white masters, Antoine’s self-hatred, as well as his hatred for his own people who are unable to protect him from this racism, is another example of “the past beingalive in the present” as the legacy of slavery continues to hauntblack Americans. Antoine’s background and treatment of Grantenable us to identify the source of Grant’s cynicism and to under-stand how deeply he has internalized his teacher’s advice: “ Just dothe best you can. But it won’t matter.”

• Hitler had his reasons Antoine’s remark exemplifies the extremealienation of blacks in Southern white America.

CHAPTERS 9-12

Summary

In Chapter 9, the focus shifts from the plantation school to thecounty jail as Grant and Miss Emma, for the first time, are able totalk to the captive Jefferson. In Chapter 10, we find Grant andMiss Emma going through the by-now familiar ritual at the court-house: The deputy searches Miss Emma’s basket of food and ex-amines the contents of Grant’s pockets, then leads them past the

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other inmates to Jefferson’s cell. As before, Jefferson is sullen andunresponsive, and Miss Emma leaves in tears, asking the deputy to

distribute the leftover food among the other inmates.The next time Grant stops by to pick up Miss Emma, she in-

sists that she is too sick to travel. Ignoring his protests, Tante Louand Miss Emma persuade Grant to visit Jefferson alone; they thensend him on his way with a bag that — in Grant’s opinion — con-tains enough food to feed everyone at the jail.

When Grant arrives for his first solo visit with Jefferson(Chapter 11), Sheriff Guidry is there to meet him instead of the

chief deputy. After Grant’s brief conversation with the sheriff,Paul, the young deputy, escorts him to Jefferson’s cell. As Granturges Jefferson to eat some of Miss Emma’s food, Jefferson initiallyignores him. Then, as Grant watches in amazement, Jefferson getsdown on his hands and knees, puts his head inside the bag of food,and proceeds to show him how a hog eats. Not wanting the sheriff to know that his visit has been unsuccessful, Grant decides to stayuntil the end of his allotted hour, half-heartedly attempting to en-

gage Jefferson in conversation. Upon leaving, he tells Jefferson thathe will tell Miss Emma how much he (Jefferson) enjoyed her food.As Paul escorts Grant back to the office, they talk briefly about Jefferson.

Reluctant to tell Miss Emma about his visit, Grant stops by theRainbow Club on his way home (Chapter 12). At the club, he finds Joe Claiborne and two old men discussing their current hero, Jackie Robinson. As he listens to their conversation and watches

the old men dramatize Jackie’s stealing bases and sliding intohome plate, Grant recalls a time when their hero was Joe Louis. Healso thinks about “the little Irishman” who introduced him to James Joyce’s short story “Ivy Day in the Committee Room.” Afterleaving the club, Grant stops by Vivian’s school to tell her abouthis visit with Jefferson.

Commentary

These four chapters focus on Grant’s first four visits with Jefferson at the county jail. In Chapters 9 and 10, Grant and MissEmma make three trips to Bayonne to visit Jefferson. Chapters 11and 12 focus on the events surrounding Grant’s first solo visit with Jefferson.

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One of the overriding images in Chapter 9 is the courthouse.Traditionally a symbol of justice and democracy, here it is a bastion

of institutional racism. As indicated by the statue of theConfederate soldier and the Confederate flag in front of the court-house, the justice dispensed here does not apply to blackAmericans. With its separate but unequal facilities, the courthousesymbolizes the racist white power structure of the Jim Crow South.

The scene between the white chief deputy and the young black prisoner illustrates the contempt of Southern racist whites towardSouthern blacks. This attitude is further exemplified by Miss

Emma’s initial encounter with the chief deputy. Note that Paulsaves Miss Emma from further embarrassment and humiliation when she misinterprets the deputy’s curt, one-word response —“Quiet” — as an order instead of as a description of Jefferson’s be-havior. By doing so, he steps outside his official role as a white au-thority figure and demonstrates his compassion.

As Grant and Miss Emma are led toward Jefferson’s cell, they pass by the cells of other young black inmates, who ask them for

cigarettes and money. (Note that the youthfulness of the inmates,most of whom are between the ages of fifteen and nineteen, seemsespecially troublesome to Miss Emma, who refers to them as “chil-dren.”) Instead of hurrying past the cells and ignoring the inmates,Grant gives them the coins he has, and Miss Emma stops to talk tothem and offers them food. When Grant and Miss Emma finallysee Jefferson, he is sullen and unresponsive, ignoring Miss Emma’sdesperate attempts to engage him in conversation. Frustrated by

Jefferson’s behavior, Miss Emma is oblivious to the unspoken com-munication that transpires between Grant and Jefferson. As Grantand Miss Emma leave the courthouse, another silent communica-tion occurs between Grant and Paul, who signals Grant to comfortMiss Emma.

The emphasis on the legal ritual at the courthouse suggeststhat this ritual is just as significant as the rituals at the plantationschool described in Chapters 7 and 8. Note that while both Grantand Miss Emma quickly adjust to the routine, it disrupts their nor-mal, everyday rituals. Thus, we see how Jefferson’s imprisonmentbegins to impact the entire black community.

Food as a source of physical and spiritual nourishment is also akey motif reinforced here. We can surmise that Miss Emma has de-cided that since she can’t save the “children,” at least she can feed

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them. Food also represents independence, generosity, and love —food is Miss Emma’s gift to Jefferson, an expression of her own

identity and something for which she does not depend on the suf-ferance of the white community. Jefferson’s rejection of her food isa rejection of her person that hurts her deeply.

In Chapter 11, when Jefferson demonstrates how a hog eats,Grant is horrified at Jefferson’s behavior; he realizes how deeplythe inhumane treatment that Jefferson has received has affectedhis psyche. As mentioned in the Introduction to the Novel sectionof this Note, Jefferson’s redemption and transformation are inter-

twined with Grant’s retaining and reasserting his manhood.Consequently, when Grant witnesses Jefferson’s humiliation, herealizes that his own manhood is threatened by this humiliation of his race. As critic Charles E. Wilson, Jr., points out in his essay“Black Manhood in Ernest J. Gaines’ Lesson Before Dying,” Grantknows that “if Jefferson, a fellow black male, behaves this way,then his own manhood is tenuous.” Wilson goes on to point outthat “Gaines seems to toy with this notion of tenuity when he has

Jefferson mispronounce ‘humans’ and spells it as ‘ youmans.’” If one rewrites “ youmans” as “ you mans” or “ you men,” then he dis-cerns the irony inherent in Jefferson’s bestowing a full sense of black manhood upon Grant (despite Grant’s self-imposed detach-ment from the black community), especially when Grant has justspoken to his aunt about his feelings of humiliation and emotionalcastration.

Jefferson’s behavior in this section is noteworthy for more than

its symbolism and irony. It also alludes to the actual behavior of enslaved blacks in response to their inhumane treatment. InFrederick Douglass’ autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he describes the following scene: “Our food was coarsecorn meal boiled. This was called mush. It was put into a large wooden tray or trough, and set down upon the ground. The chil-dren were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigsthey would come and devour the mush; some with oyster shells,others with pieces of shingle, some with naked hands, and none with spoons.” Note that Grant is so upset by Jefferson’s behavior,he can’t bring himself to face Miss Emma (who, we can assume, isanxiously awaiting his return). Instead, he retreats to the solace of the Rainbow Club.

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The three old men at the Rainbow Club who are discussingtheir hero, Jackie Robinson, illustrate the tendency of poor, op-

pressed people to idolize heroes whose larger-than-life image is of-ten created and nurtured by their own thwarted hopes and dreams.These heroes are often sports figures and entertainers whoseunique talents have enabled them to achieve fame and financialsuccess despite the racial and economic barriers that deny oppressed blacks the opportunity to achieve success in moreconventional arenas. Grant realizes that, by celebrating the accomplishments of their sports heroes and claiming them as representa-

tive members of the black community, the old men are celebratingand claiming their own sense of manhood and imagining theheights to which they, too, might aspire, since their heroes havedemonstrated that, despite seemingly impossible odds, success is

possible.This section also explores some key issues concerning teachers

and teaching. As Grant watches the old men, he recalls his days asa university student, when a lecture by a speaker whom he refers

to as “the little Irishman” piqued his interest in James Joyce’s shortstory “Ivy Day in the Committee Room.” He recalls the speaker’senthusiasm about the story, his insistence that it explores universalthemes, and his repetition of the name “Parnell.” He recalls howhis literature teacher, Mr. Anderson, helped him obtain a copy of an anthology that included the story. He also recalls that, afterreading and rereading the story, he could not find in it theuniversality that the Irishman talked about. Years later, he realizes

that the story (about a group of old Irishmen who meet to discuss politics and praise their dead hero, Parnell) is universal because it parallels the experiences of countless old men he sees who meet inbars and barbershops, on street corners, and in the quarter to talkabout their heroes. As his mind drifts back to Jefferson and his impending execution, Grant recalls reading about the execution of aboy in Florida who pleaded for Joe Louis to save him as he was be-ing dragged to the electric chair. Although seemingly unrelated, wecan surmise that this story underscores a key point about hero worship: It may feed the men’s fantasies and allow them to livevicariously through their heroes, but it cannot protect them fromlife’s grim realities.

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Grant’s visit to Vivian’s school illustrates the powerful impactteachers can have on their students. While Grant’s most vivid

memories about his own school days revolve around the cynicalMatthew Antoine (Chapter 8), his memories of “the little Irishman”and his literature teacher, Mr. Anderson, indicate that these menalso had an impact on him, which he is only now beginning toacknowledge. The visit also contrasts Vivian’s teaching style —marked by nurturing and high expectations — to Grant’s discipli-narian approach, symbolized by his ever-present Westcott ruler.(Note that Vivian’s definition of a simple sentence is quite differ-

ent from Grant’s definition in Chapter 5.) The fact that Vivianteaches French suggests not only that she values knowledge andculture, but that she envisions her students as having a future thattranscends the limits of their impoverished physical environment.

• It don’t matter. Jefferson’s words echo those of Matthew Antoine inChapter 8.

• clabber thickly curdled sour milk.• Jackie Robinson (1919-72) United States Major League Baseball

player. In 1947, Robinson became the first African American to play in

the major leagues when he signed a contract with the BrooklynDodgers. He was also the first black to win the Most Valuable Playeraward, the first to play in a major league World Series, and the first tobe inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. For many blacks, Jackie

Robinson symbolized a triumph in the fight for racial integration.

• Joe Louis (1914-81) United States professional boxer. Nicknamed“The Brown Bomber,” Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing championfrom 1937-49, still holds the record for the longest reign as heavyweightchampion: 11 years, 8 months, and 7 days.

• Schmeling Max Schmeling, German boxer who defeated Joe Louis in1936. In 1938, Louis regained his heavyweight title, defeating

Schmeling in the first round of their fight.

• Yeats, O’Casey, Joyce William Butler Yeats, Sean O’Casey, and James

Joyce, Irish playwrights and poets.

• Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91), Irish nationalist leader.

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CHAPTERS 13-15

SummaryAfter Miss Eloise Bouie stops by to pick up Tante Lou for

church, Grant sits in his room grading papers and reflecting on hisconversation with Miss Emma and Rev. Ambrose the previousFriday. His daydreams are interrupted by a knock at his door, andhe is pleasantly surprised to find that Vivian has come to visit.Grant and Vivian talk, have coffee and cake, then slip off to thecane fields to make love. When they return, they find that the“church ladies” — Tante Lou, Miss Emma, Miss Eloise, and Inez —have gathered in Tante Lou’s kitchen. When Grant introducesVivian, the women, taking their cues from Tante Lou, give her acool reception. While Grant makes fresh coffee, Tante Lou interro-gates Vivian about her social and academic background and her re-ligious beliefs. Relieved to discover that Vivian is not the snob whom she had envisioned, Tante Lou declares her to be “a lady of

quality,” signaling Vivian’s acceptance into the community of women.

Commentary

Set in the quarter, this section focuses on the events that tran-spire on Termination (Determination) Sunday, the third Sunday of each month when church members “ would [ritually] sing their fa-vorite hymns and tell the congregation where they were deter-

mined to spend eternity.” One of the primary rituals in this sectionconcerns Tante Lou’s preparation for church, as she sings her‘Termination song. Music — in the form of spirituals — permeatesthis section, emphasizing the vital part that music and the blackchurch play in the lives of Tante Lou and her friends. Spirituals arethe basis of the blues, another traditionally African-American mu-sical form, and blues are the secular equivalent of spirituals.Consequently, we begin to appreciate the powerful role of music inthe characters’ lives: Music provides spiritual sustenance in timesof trouble and offers a means of expressing and exorcising physicaland emotional suffering, a theme that is further developed in sub-sequent chapters. Music is also a form of language and expression, pointing to the creative impulses of the black community that

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could not be silenced. The selection of the song “Were You ThereWhen They Crucified My Lord” can be seen as foreshadowing

Jefferson’s execution and Grant’s decision not to be a witness.This section also refers to two other rituals: the visits with

Jefferson (which have disrupted the former rituals of several com-munity members, including Grant, Miss Emma, Tante Lou, andRev. Ambrose) and the ritual of baptism. In Chapter 13, when MissEmma asks Grant about his visit with Jefferson, he tells her whathe thinks she wants to hear in order to spare her feelings. But when Rev. Ambrose asks Grant if they “talked about God,” Grant’s

blunt response indicates his contempt for the reverend, eventhough he addresses him as “sir.” The conversation between Grantand Rev. Ambrose also reveals a major difference between the twomen’s beliefs and value systems: Grant is educated, but his educa-tion has caused him to lose touch with his people and his heritage;consequently, he is not prepared for any “deep” thinking. Rev.Ambrose lacks formal education, but his innate wisdom and compassion, coupled with his spiritual faith, enable him to cope with

life’s challenges. Note that Grant, who considers himself superiorto both Jefferson and Rev. Ambrose due to his education, empha-sizes the differences between himself and the reverend. But Rev.Ambrose, in pointing out that he baptized both Grant and Jefferson, emphasizes the similarities between the two. Note alsothat while Grant considers only Jefferson’s physical needs (foodand clean clothes), Rev. Ambrose is concerned with his spiritualneeds (the Bible). This chapter also draws attention to the univer-

sal conflict between faith and reason.Grant is an agnostic, not an atheist. Although not convinced

that there is no God, Grant has been so battered by the harsh real-ities of life that he doubts God’s existence. This doubt — a direct re-sult of his education — causes him to experience existential pain:What is the purpose of his life, and where can he best fulfill that purpose while staying true to himself and his heritage? For TanteLou, the church defines her existence. For Grant, it represents white oppression. Grant’s ambivalence toward the church is re-vealed by his statement that, ever since his graduation from theuniversity and a brief trip to California to visit his parents, he hasbeen “running in place . . . unable to accept what used to be mylife, unable to leave it.” Although he rejects God, a part of him

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longs to experience the peace and spiritual strength experienced byMiss Emma and Tante Lou, as expressed in his comment, “Sunday

is the saddest day of the week.” As one critic has pointed out, “The problem . . . Grant Wiggins faces is the plight of an educated man who feels trapped in his community. He could stay and be beatendown or run away and be lost.”

Chapter 14 focuses on two key scenes that mark pivotal pointsin the novel: Grant and Vivian’s conversation in Tante Lou’s cabin,and their slipping away to make love in the cane fields.

Note that instead of taking pride in his home, which, although

modest, reflects his family’s background and heritage, Grant apol-ogizes for his surroundings. Also note that while Grant describesthe cabin as “rustic,” Vivian describes it as “ pastoral.” Althoughboth terms refer to a simple country life, they have very differentconnotations: While “rustic” connotes a lack of elegance or sophis-tication, “ pastoral” suggests an idealized, natural lifestyle markedby peace and tranquillity. Here again, the author’s meticulous useof language and dialogue are critical to the narrative and reveal the

characters’ very different perspectives of life. Also significant isVivian’s remark concerning the cleanliness of Tante Lou’s kitchen.Through the use of this seemingly unremarkable comment (coupled with a later reference to the women’s “sweet smelling pow-der”), Gaines dispels the racial myth that blacks are dirty and havean objectionable body odor. This theme is also emphasized in sub-sequent chapters.

Although the love scene between Grant and Vivian is some-

what unremarkable, the fact that it takes place in the cane field issignificant, as is the lovers’ subsequent conversation. The powerfulnature imagery of the cane fields establishes the relationship of black Americans to the land that made them what they are. Theconcept of a people intimately connected to the earth is oftentraced to the biblical Creation story, which states that man was cre-ated from the earth and tells the story of Adam and Eve and theirsons, Cain and Abel.

Following the love scene in the cane fields, Gaines uses a varietyof techniques to suggest that Grant has been transformed, gainingstrength from his “mother” earth, and is now better prepared to cope with life and to “go deeper” (that is, look beyond the surface). Forexample, as he and Vivian dream about their future family, he says

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that he wants to name his son “Paul.” Here again, a seemingly un-remarkable detail is extremely significant. Recall that “Paul” is the

name of the young white deputy who has befriended Grant.Consequently Grant, who in previous chapters revealed his hatredof whites, has decidedly had a change of heart. In literature, andespecially in African-American literature, names often provide in-sight into a character’s soul. In this novel, Gaines places specialemphasis on Paul’s name. According to the Bible, Paul was the firstgreat missionary and theologian in Christian history. As a devout Jew notorious for his persecution of Christians, Saul of Tarsus

(later renamed Paul) heard the voice of Jesus and was blinded by abright light from heaven. After several days, his sight was restoredby a Christian. As a result of his profound experience, Paul becamea devout Christian. He was eventually imprisoned for his faith anddied a martyr. To countless Christians, Paul’s life exemplifies hopeand illustrates not only the changes that can be wrought in a lifebased on faith, but also the profound impact that one individualcan have on the lives of others. Like the biblical Paul, Grant is

struck by the realization that his life has been moving in the wrongdirection and that Jefferson’s transformation is necessary for hisown transformation. Grant’s change of heart is also evident in hisbehavior upon returning to Tante Lou’s, where, for the first time,he stands up to his aunt and insists on making the coffee (therebychallenging — and breaking — another ritual). Instead of waiting tobe served or simply complying with “the way it’s always been,”Grant begins to change his behavior which, in turn, affects the

people around him.Chapter 15, which focuses on the women gossiping in Tante

Lou’s kitchen, mirrors a scene in Chapter 12, in which the mentalk about their heroes at the Rainbow Club. But whereas the mentalked about the past and dreamed about the accomplishments of their heroes, the women talk about the future and the dreams theyhave for their families. A significant scene in this chapter is TanteLou’s interrogation of Vivian concerning her Creole backgroundand her religion. Tante Lou’s eventual acceptance of Vivian indi-cates that she is willing to see Vivian as an individual, not simplyas a Catholic or a Creole. Through the women’s interaction, Gainesteaches us an important lesson that Grant has also begun to learn:Who we are is far more important than what we are.

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This chapter, which marks the midpoint of the novel, alsomarks the beginning of Grant’s transformation as a man and a

teacher.

• Creole a person of black and French or Spanish lineage that formedthe elite backbone of early New Orleans society. From the French “cre-

ole,” meaning native to the region, or born at home.

• Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Booker T. Washingtonmen associated with the struggle for civil rights and black liberation.Douglass (1817-95), a former slave (born Frederick Augustus

Washington Bailey), became a famous orator who spoke out against thehorrors of slavery; Lincoln (1809-65) signed the Emancipation

Proclamation freeing the slaves, although he admitted doing so not primarily because he believed that slavery was morally wrong but be-cause he sought to preserve the Union; Washington (1856-1915) is bestknown for his conservative, conciliatory views concerning the role of

blacks in America.

• A swarm of black birds flew across the road. Birds are a common

symbol for the soul. Grant’s sighting the black birds moments before heand Vivian pass the cemetery suggests that the birds are the souls of hisancestors.

• derrick a large apparatus for lifting and moving heavy objects.

• Free LaCove Vivian’s hometown, inhabited mostly by Creoles andlight-skinned blacks.

• Xavier University a university located in New Orleans and named

for Saint Francis Xavier (1506-52), a Spanish Jesuit missionary. XavierUniversity is a historically black and Catholic affiliated university.

CHAPTER 16

Summary

On Monday, as Grant is about to leave school for the day, oneof his students informs him that Miss Emma wants him to stop byon his way home. When he arrives at Miss Emma’s, he finds thatTante Lou and Rev. Ambrose are with her. After offering him somecoffee, Miss Emma asks him why he lied to her concerning his lastvisit with Jefferson. Instead of admitting that he lied to protect herfeelings, Grant insists that he told the truth, even after Miss Emmatells him that she had to hit Jefferson.

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Several days later, Grant overhears Tante Lou and Miss Eloisediscussing Miss Emma’s last visit with Jefferson and learns that

Miss Emma slapped Jefferson for repeating his degrading act ofimitating a hog. The scene then shifts back to Miss Emma’skitchen, where Rev. Ambrose and Tante Lou are doing their best tocomfort Miss Emma, who insists that Grant go back to visit Jefferson.

Commentary

Much of this chapter focuses on the conversation betweenGrant and Miss Emma concerning Jefferson’s behavior. Hereagain, Gaines reveals some important aspects of Grant’s characterthrough dialogue. Note, for example, that when Miss Emma tellshim that she had to hit Jefferson, Grant doesn’t ask why. Instead,he remains silent, hoping to avoid further confrontation. Also notethat Grant’s comment concerning Jefferson — “I do everything Iknow how to do to keep people like him from going there [to

prison]” — speaks volumes. But does he? If anything, Grant’s use of corporal punishment and ridicule in the classroom in order to con-trol his students helps perpetuate the system of institutional racismbecause he does nothing to try to motivate his students or helpthem transcend the brutal reality of their limited environment.

By referring to Jefferson as “ people like him,” Grant impliesthat Jefferson is “less than” or “different from” other people. He is,in effect, denying any connection between himself and Jefferson,

thereby attempting to absolve himself of any responsibility in thematter. In short, he seems totally oblivious to the fact that Jefferson is not only one of his former students and a friend of thefamily, but he is also a fellow black man and a member of theblack community — a person who has experienced the same kindof racism and bigotry that Grant himself has experienced. He feelsno racial or communal kinship toward Jefferson. In essence, hesees himself as being in a totally different class.

Grant’s abdication of his responsibility toward Jefferson, a fel-low human being, is reminiscent of the biblical story of Cain andAbel. After Cain killed his brother Abel, God asked Cain whereAbel was. Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The expres-sion has come to be used in any situation in which a person abdi-cates responsibility for another individual.

35



The chapter also makes an important statement about the na-ture of truth and lies: Omitting or withholding information is

equivalent to telling lies, and that kind of “truth is not accuracy.”

• Mardi Gras an annual festival renowned for its lavish costumes anddecadent party atmosphere, held on the Tuesday before Ash

Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for “fat Tuesday”) is also called ShroveTuesday. Traditionally a celebration of feasting before the beginning of Lent, it has now become secularized.

• roast nyers roasting ears (of corn).

CHAPTERS 17 & 18

Summary

On Friday, Grant’s students begin planning their Christmas program, which puts Grant in a more charitable mood. WhenGrant goes to visit Jefferson, Paul Bonin, the young deputy, sug-

gests they call each other by name. During his visit, Grant tries toimpress upon Jefferson that he has a responsibility toward his god-mother. This time, he refuses to let Jefferson get away with hiscrude, uncivilized behavior. Instead of ignoring his insults, he letshim know that his behavior is unacceptable and challenges him toact like a man. Apparently shocked by Grant’s behavior, Jeffersonexpresses his pain and frustration through tears and anger.

As Grant prepares to leave the courthouse, Paul tells him that

Sheriff Guidry wants to see him. After ignoring Grant for severalminutes while he continues his conversation with his colleagues,Sheriff Guidry tells Grant that Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Rev.Ambrose have been to visit his wife to ask if they could visit Jefferson in a more comfortable room. (Grant learns later that thesheriff ’s wife had set a precedent by inviting them to sit in her liv-ing room while her maid served them coffee.) Although initiallyangry because he thinks Grant has put them up to it, the sheriff

eventually calms down and decides to let Jefferson choose whetherhe wants to meet his visitors in his cell or in the dayroom.

The sheriff keeps his promise, and the next time Miss Emma,Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose visit Jefferson, they meet him in thedayroom. During his next visit, Grant also meets Jefferson in the

36



dayroom. This time, Jefferson attempts to initiate a conversationconcerning his impending execution, but Grant quickly changes

the subject. But when Jefferson attempts to slip back into his sub-human attitude and behavior, Grant once again challenges him,and then tries to teach him a lesson about moral obligation.Afterward, Grant meets Vivian at the Rainbow Club and convincesher that “something is changing.”

Commentary

Something is changing. These two chapters mark a decidedchange in the relationships among several characters. Note that allthe changes begin with personal conversations between two indi-viduals. Also note that although the changes ultimately take placeamong the men, it is the women (Edna Guidry, Miss Emma, TanteLou, and Vivian) who provide much of the catalyst for change.

Chapter 17 consists of a series of conversations between Grantand Paul, Grant and Jefferson, and Grant and Sheriff Guidry, re-

spectively. Note that all three conversations focus on Jefferson, andthat each conversation not only triggers a change in the relation-ship between the two speakers, but it also marks a shift in thespeaker’s attitude toward Jefferson.

The first conversation (between Grant and Paul) marks achange in the relationship between the two men when Paul intro-duces himself and suggests he and Grant address each other byname. It also foreshadows a shift in the relationship between

blacks and whites, manifested in the Civil Rights movement. Thesecond conversation (between Grant and Jefferson) begins to breakdown the defensive wall that Jefferson has built around himself,thus leading him toward a growing awareness of himself as a hu-man being worthy of dignity and respect. The third conversation(between Grant and Sheriff Guidry) marks a subtle change be-tween Grant and Sheriff Guidry, and a significant change betweenSheriff Guidry and Jefferson: For the first time, the sheriff ignores

the advice of his colleagues when he decides to give Jefferson achoice about whether he will meet his visitors in his cell or in thedayroom. Grant is also undergoing profound changes: Despite hisattempt to remain detached and uninvolved, he begins to havedreams in which he is the one about to be executed. (Through his

37



subsequent conversation with Vivian, we learn that Grant’sconcern over Jefferson has also begun to affect his sex life.)

Consequently, we realize that, subconsciously, Grant is beginningto identify with Jefferson and to recognize the racial and filialbonds that bind him to his “brother.” In essence, as Grant begins toundergo a process of transformation, he begins to connect with Jefferson and to influence the transformation of others. Note, how-ever, that when Jefferson responds to his invitation to “talk” andbroaches the subject of his impending execution, Grant quicklychanges the subject, indicating that he is not yet prepared to deal

with the real issue.In Chapter 18, Grant and Jefferson begin to communicate on a

personal level. Note that Jefferson’s physical movement from thedark of his cell to the daylight of the dayroom symbolizes his spir-itual and intellectual movement towards enlightenment. Havinggained the freedom to choose, he begins to see himself as a humanbeing. And as Grant continues to challenge his protests that he isnot human, Jefferson begins to acquire a sense of self-worth: He

asserts himself by questioning Grant, challenging his philosophical platitude that “We’re all going to die,” expressing his pain, anger,and frustration. In effect, Jefferson begins to exercise control overhis mind and thoughts. Even though he is shackled and can takeonly small steps, he is not only beginning to stand, but to walk andmove towards awareness, self-knowledge, and spiritual freedom.

• plarines a mispronunciation of “ pralines,” a type of candy made of pecans, brown sugar, and maple syrup.

CHAPTER 19

Summary

Despite the cold, rainy weather, the people in the quarter havegathered at the plantation church/school for the annual Christmas

program. Aware that this year’s program is dedicated to Jefferson,many arrive early, and Grant notes that even those who have neverbefore attended a Christmas or graduation program are present.Among the members of the congregation are Miss Rita Lawrenceand her grandson, Bok; Farrell Jarreau and his wife, Ofelia; MissEloise Bouie; Miss Emma; and Tante Lou.

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Following Rev. Ambrose’s welcoming prayer, the program be-gins with several selections from the choir. Program highlights in-

clude Odessa Freeman’s recitation of “‘Twas the Night BeforeChristmas,” Albert Martin’s essay “The Little Pine Tree,” and areenactment of the Nativity. After Rev. Ambrose’s closing prayer,the people gather in the back of the church for refreshments andconversation. Instead of joining them, Grant sits on a chair insidethe pulpit, where he eats alone and looks past the talking, laughing people to the little pine Christmas tree and the lone gift for Jefferson leaning against a tub.

Commentary

Note that even though it was Grant’s idea to dedicate the pro-gram to Jefferson, he attributes everything— from the overwhelm-ing attendance and the glorious children’s singing — to the weatherrather than to the people’s concern over Jefferson. This chapter in-troduces the black community through its people and illustrates

the importance of ritual and the people’s need to be part of thecommunity.The relationship between Miss Rita Lawrence and her men-

tally retarded grandson, Bok, illustrates unselfish love, and MissRita’s insistence on contributing something to the program demon-strates the human need to contribute to the community, to feelneeded and worthwhile. The others don’t have the heart to refuseher offer even though her dingy gray sheet embarrasses them.

Grant stands alone; his mind is on past Christmas programsand on Jefferson. Even though he thinks that this program is likeall the rest, he realizes that it is very different. The play is part of the Christmas ritual that serves to strengthen the Christian faith byretelling the story of Jesus’s birth. Even though Jefferson is not physically present, his presence is felt by others. Consequently, heis part of the community’s celebration. Grant, however, has not yetreconciled himself to his community. He still stands alone, not yet

accepting his responsibility to stand for and with his community.We learn that the people are materially poor but spiritually

rich. They are proud, hard-working people who love, support, and protect each other. Generous and willing to share what little theyhave with others, their simple needs and basic values include their

39



A Lesson Before Dying Character Web

Tante Lou

(acts as Grant's surrogate mother)

Paul

(a young deputy; he

befriends Grant and witnesses

Jefferson's execution)

Vivian

(an elementary school teacher;

unlike Grant, she believes a person

can make a difference)

Grant(a disillusioned school teacher

who tries to instill a sense of pride

and self-worth in Jefferson)

Jefferson(21 years old; condemned

to die for supposedly

killing a white man)

teaches Grant how

to "kneel and stand"

acts as an older brother toward

emotionally act like sisters

Reverend Mose Ambrose

(chastises Grant for not being

concerned with Jefferson's soul)

Henri Pichot

(plantation owner)

Miss Emma

(acts as Jefferson's surrogate mother)

a u n t

r e p

r e s e n t s m a s t e r - s l a v e

m e n t a l i t y t o w a r d

f r i e n d s

l o v e

r s

r i v a l s a

n d

f o e s

i n e f f e

c t u a l s p i r i t

u a l a

d v i s e

r



families, their community, and their need for spiritual nourish-ment. They have family and relationship problems and are dealing

with them as best as they can. Painfully aware of the violence andracism surrounding them, they have chosen not to allow the evil of the outside world to overshadow their joy of living.

• crockersacks bags made of coarse material, such as burlap.

• crackling the browned, crisp rind of roast pork; the crisp part re-

maining after hog fat or poultry has been rendered.

CHAPTERS 20 & 21

Summary

It is late February, and Grant is at school grading papers duringrecess when Mr. Farrell Jarreau comes to tell him that the date hasbeen set for Jefferson’s execution and that Grant and Rev. Ambrosehave been summoned to Henri Pichot’s mansion. Leaving Irene in

charge, Grant heads for Pichot’s house, where he meets Rev.Ambrose. After offering them coffee, Inez tells the two men thatthe sheriff is due to arrive shortly. Several minutes later, she re-turns to inform them that the sheriff has arrived and that he andPichot want to meet with them in the front parlor. As soon asGrant and Rev. Ambrose are seated, Sheriff Guidry informs themthat Jefferson’s execution has been set for “Friday, April eighth, be-tween noon and three.” He then asks if Miss Emma will need a

doctor and offers to send Dr. Sid Gilroy to look after her when hegets back to town. As the sheriff prepares to leave, Rev. Ambrosereminds him of this offer, and the sheriff calls Dr. Gilroy to arrangefor a visit with Miss Emma.

As the men leave Pichot’s mansion, Rev. Ambrose stops tocomfort Inez and then offers Grant a ride to Miss Emma’s, butGrant declines and starts walking in the opposite direction. Thatevening, after stopping by the school to pick up his papers, Grant pays a brief visit to Miss Emma, then heads home to eat the foodTante Lou has prepared for him. After dinner, Vivian comes by.After a brief interval, the two head back to Miss Emma’s, whereeven more people have gathered to demonstrate their support for

42



Jefferson’s godmother, who has taken to her sick bed. After servingthem coffee, Inez tells Grant that Miss Emma wants to speak to

him. Miss Emma tells Grant that she doesn’t know when she’ll beable to visit Jefferson again and that she hopes Grant and Rev.Ambrose will work together. After their visit, Grant and Vivian goto the Rainbow Club, where Grant reveals his pain, anger, andfrustration to Vivian and tells her that it is up to Jefferson to breakthe vicious cycle of hopelessness and despair plaguing the blackcommunity.

Commentary

In these two chapters, Gaines continues to focus on the powerand cohesiveness of the black community as he demonstrates thetremendous impact that Jefferson’s impending execution has onthe people in the quarter. When Mr. Farrell Jarreau arrives to tellGrant that he is wanted up front, Grant senses that someone is present, but he first finishes grading a paper, thinking that one of

his students has come in from recess. (Note that the phrase “goingto the front” can also allude to war.) When Grant realizes that hisvisitor is Mr. Farrell, he notes that his visitor looks “very small andvery sad.” As Mr. Farrell leaves, Grant notices his “stoop-shoul-dered” walk. He also notices that, instead of going back to work,Mr. Farrell is headed home.

Here again, Gaines’ use of dialogue and detail speaks volumes.In describing the scene between Grant and Mr. Farrell, we realize

that Mr. Farrell has been personally affected by Jefferson’s impending death. Consequently, we begin to realize a profound truth:One man’s fate can and does affect others. Even though Jeffersonseems convinced that his life is worthless, his life does have mean-ing and value.

The two chapters also continue to develop the theme of changeand transformation. Note that this time, Rev. Ambrose and Grantmeet with Sheriff Guidry and Henri Pichot in the front parlor

rather than in the kitchen. We can presume, therefore, that Pichot(who is obviously aware of Edna Guidry’s precedent-setting meet-ing with Rev. Ambrose, Miss Emma, and Tante Lou) feels obligatedto follow her example, although he does not go so far as to extend

43



the traditional Southern hospitality to the two men by offeringthem coffee. After Grant recovers from his surprise at being in-

vited into Pichot’s front parlor, he seems disappointed that Pichot’sfurniture is old and faded, indicating that his image concerning thegrandeur of the Pichot mansion does not live up to the reality. Notealso that, once again, a woman has been instrumental in initiatingchange. We gather that Sheriff Guidry’s question concerning MissEmma’s need for a doctor is not prompted by genuine concern forMiss Emma (whom he refers to simply as “the old woman”); he poses the question only because his wife has pointed out that Miss

Emma “might need a doctor.” After offering to send Dr. Gilroy tocheck on her, he calls Dr. Gilroy only after Rev. Ambrose remindshim of his offer. The doctor’s main concern is not the state of MissEmma’s health, but the road conditions in the quarter.

Grant is enraged about the cold and calculated manner in which Jefferson’s death has been decided by these white men. Jefferson has not been sentenced by a jury of his peers but by agroup of racist whites who have a total disregard for black life.

Although Grant seethes with rage at the injustice of Jefferson’s sit-uation, he is afraid to express his feelings openly. He is afraid toface Miss Emma, and so he leaves it up to Rev. Ambrose to tell herthe news. He envisions “miles of clear blue water” compared to thereality of the muddy river.

During Grant and Vivian’s conversation at the Rainbow Club,Grant explains to Vivian the tragedy of black men in America andthe need for black pride and dignity, and he admits that Jefferson

must be the one to break the vicious cycle of hopelessness and de-spair. In effect, Grant admits that, despite his education, he is help-less to bring about the required changes. It is Jefferson whorepresents hope for Miss Emma and the black community. Jefferson alone has the power to demonstrate the dignity, strength,and humanity of the black community and thus expose the mythof white supremacy as the oppressive lie that it is.

• ragball a game in which a ball of rags takes the place of a real ball.

Reference to the game underscores the crushing poverty of the blackcommunity.

44



CHAPTERS 22 & 23

SummaryOn Friday, Grant visits Jefferson for the first time since the

date for his execution had been set. Although Paul offers to staynearby, warning him that things might be different now, Grant as-sures him that he will be fine. Upon meeting with Jefferson, hefinds him to be more calm and subdued. He also finds that, for thefirst time, Jefferson is willing to talk to him. Grant proceeds to tellhim the news from the quarter. When he mentions that Gable’s wife, Stella, had her baby, Jefferson recalls that he had planned togo hunting with his friend Gable on the fateful night he ended upat Alcee Gropé’s liquor store with Brother and Bear. Hoping to di-vert Jefferson’s attention from his painful memories, Grant tellshim that Inez is still giving her fairs (house parties), although shedoesn’t allow any music. The mention of music leads to a discus-sion of “Randy’s Record Shop,” a radio program Grant and

Jefferson used to listen to as boys. When Jefferson shows some in-terest in the conversation and asks if “Randy’s Record Shop” is stillon the air, Grant offers to bring him a radio the following day so hecan have music over the weekend. True to his word, Grant headsfor the Rainbow Club, where he plans to wait for Vivian and bor-row some money from her to buy the radio. But after he shares his plan with Claiborne and Thelma, he ends up borrowing the moneyfrom them and their customers. Grant then heads for Edwin’s

Department Store to buy the radio and then returns to the court-house to deliver the radio to Paul, who assures him that he willgive it to Jefferson. Satisfied with his accomplishment, Grantreturns to the Rainbow Club, hoping to meet Vivian.

On his next visit (Monday), Paul tells Grant that the last timeMiss Emma, Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose visited Jefferson, herefused to meet them in the dayroom because he was not allowed tobring his radio. When they agree to meet him in his cell, Jefferson

ignores them and continues to listen to his radio until Miss Emmaturns it off. As they prepare to leave, Sheriff Guidry calls them intohis office, warns them that he doesn’t want any trouble, and threat-ens to stop the visits or take away the radio if it’s causing any prob-lems. Miss Emma assures him that the radio is not a problem, andSheriff Guidry tells them to work together with Grant.

45



Later, back at school, Grant receives a message that Tante Lou wants to see him at Miss Emma’s. When he arrives, Tante Lou,

Miss Emma, and the reverend accuse him of endangering Jefferson’s soul by bringing him the radio, which the reverendrefers to as a “sin box.” Grant tells them that Jefferson needs theradio to help him keep his mind off his impending death, and thetwo men argue about the merits of saving Jefferson’s dignity ver-sus saving his soul.

The following Wednesday, Grant visits Jefferson and bringshim apples, candy, and comic books, as well as peanuts and pecans

from his students. He convinces Jefferson to meet his visitors inthe dayroom next time and offers to bring him a notebook and pen-cil so that he can write down his thoughts and make notes aboutanything he wants to discuss during their visits. When Jeffersonthanks him and shakes his hand, Grant is overjoyed.

Commentary

Now that the date for Jefferson’s execution has been set, Grant’sattitude toward Jefferson changes dramatically. We can surmise thathe suddenly realizes that Jefferson’s death is imminent and resolvesto do all he can to make his last days as pleasant as possible. We canalso surmise that he is suddenly struck by the horror and tragedyof Jefferson’s situation and recognizes the brevity and fragility of life, as well as the futility and insignificance of his own life.Consequently, he develops a sense of urgency concerning his mis-

sion to help Jefferson die like a man. He accepts responsibility andrecognizes the impact he can have on Jefferson’s life. In essence,Grant realizes that his visits with Jefferson are not an obligation,but a privilege: He has been given an opportunity to make a pro-found difference in the life of a fellow human being. He recognizesthe kinship between himself and Jefferson and that, despite hisown education, he could well be the one behind bars.

The focus of these two chapters is Jefferson’s radio, which pro-

vides the catalyst for change in numerous characters. The radio provides a wake-up call for Jefferson that reconnects him with thecommunity by reawakening in him his love of music and reinforc-ing the theme (Chapter 13) of music’s role in providing spiritualsustenance and exorcising suffering. The fact that the music is not

46



spiritual here represents the perceived dichotomy between the sec-ular and the spiritual, or faith and reason. The radio creates con-

flict between Grant and Rev. Ambrose, which eventually forces thetwo men to communicate and share their feelings concerning Jefferson’s needs. It also highlights the changes taking place inGrant, whose determination to get the radio for Jefferson enableshim to put his pride aside, as illustrated by his interaction with the white sales clerk at Edwin’s Department Store; his willingness toaccept Claiborne and Thelma’s contribution with humble grati-tude; and his decision to resist the urge to correct the sheriff ’s mis-

pronunciation of “batteries.”The idea of the radio originates from the conversation between

Grant and Jefferson concerning “Randy’s Record Shop,” a programthat they both listened to as young boys growing up in the quarter.Thus, the radio not only provides a sense of kinship and connect-edness between the two men; it also provides a link to their past, in which both enjoyed the same simple pleasures of youth. By recon-necting with that past, we can surmise that Grant realizes that the

only thing that kept him from ending up like Jefferson was the rolethat fate and circumstance played in his life, enabling him to es-cape the narrow confines of his limited environment and exercise afreedom of choice that was not available to Jefferson. By realizingthis, he is able, for the first time, to reach out to Jefferson as afriend, instead of regarding him as one of “those people” who got what they deserve.

Here again, Gaines fuses fiction with reality. He has said in an

interview that “Randy’s Record Shop” was a program that he him-self used to listen to as a boy, growing up in the quarter. Renownedauthor and literary critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr., recalls in his auto-biography Colored People: “If prime time [television] consisted of images of middle-class white people who looked nothing at all likeus, late night was about the radio, listening to ‘Randy’s RecordShop’ from Gallatin, Tennessee. . . . In 1956, black music hadn’t yet broken down into its many subgenres, except for large divisionssuch as jazz, blues, gospel, rhythm and blues.”

In Chapter 23, note that Jefferson prefers mental freedom (theradio) to physical freedom (the dayroom). Also, the references tothe Bible (“Let there be light”) reflect Jefferson’s enlightenment.

47



We see a change in Sheriff Guidry’s attitude toward Grant, ashe accepts Grant’s leadership role in Jefferson’s care and directs

Miss Emma and Rev. Ambrose to work with Grant in assuring thatthe radio does not become a source of disruption.

CHAPTERS 24-26

Summary

After stopping by the drugstore to pick up the notebook and pencil that he promised Jefferson, Grant meets Miss Emma, TanteLou, and Rev. Ambrose in front of the courthouse. In Paul’s ab-sence, they are searched and escorted to the dayroom by the chief deputy. As soon as Jefferson is brought in, Miss Emma sets thetable and dishes up her special gumbo, but Jefferson refuses to eat.Sensing Miss Emma’s disappointment, Grant asks Jefferson to walk with him. As they walk around the room, he tells Jeffersonthat he wants to be his friend, explaining that a friend is someone

who will do anything to please a friend. He then asks Jefferson tobe a friend to his nannan by eating some of her gumbo. Jeffersonresponds with a slight nod.

Grant goes on to tell Jefferson that he wants him to be a hero,explaining that a hero is someone who does little things for others.Determined to convince Jefferson that he is a human being worthyof dignity and respect, Grant explains that the myth of white supremacy has been created by whites to subjugate blacks and urges

him to look beyond the myth in order to realize and reclaim hisself-worth. When Jefferson starts to cry, Grant realizes that he hasfinally gotten through to him. To illustrate his point, he cites theexample of Mr. Farrell making a slingshot handle out of bits of scrap wood, explaining that people are like pieces of driftwood un-til they decide to become something better. As Jefferson continuesto cry, Grant leads him back to the table to eat some of his nan-nan’s gumbo.

Following their visit with Jefferson, Rev. Ambrose, Tante Lou,and Miss Emma return to the quarter. Grant heads for theRainbow Club, anxious to meet Vivian and tell her about his break-through with Jefferson. While waiting for Vivian, he hears twomulatto bricklayers talking loudly. When he realizes that they aretalking about Jefferson, he resolves to ignore their crass comments,

48



finish his drink, and walk out. Instead, he allows himself to getcaught up in their trap and ends up in a barroom brawl, which

stops abruptly when Claiborne knocks him out cold after Grant ig-nores his repeated pleas to stop fighting. When he comes to, Vivianis standing over him and convinces him to go home with her.

When Vivian chastises him for his behavior, Grant insists thathe “ just couldn’t help it,” but Vivian points out that he had achoice: He could simply have walked out. After surveying hisbruises, Vivian insists that Grant spend the night, but he objects, pointing out that his presence could cause her trouble with her job

and with her estranged husband. Pointing out that she’s already introuble, Vivian calmly continues preparing their dinner. As she works, she tells Grant about her recent communication with herhusband, and Grant tells her about his visit with Jefferson.Realizing that she is still angry with him, he tries to sweet-talk her.When this tactic fails, he announces that he is leaving. This timeVivian doesn’t try to stop him; instead, she explodes, arguing thatif he loved her, he would be considerate of her feelings and not en-

danger his life with reckless behavior. Grant heads for the door,but as he looks out into the darkness, he realizes that running awayis not the answer and returns to beg Vivian’s forgiveness.

Commentary

These three chapters establish the basis for the evolving friend-ship between Grant and Jefferson. By agreeing to a joint visit with

Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose, Grant indicates his willingness to comply with Miss Emma’s wishes and to do what isbest for Jefferson. By stopping by the drugstore to get the notebookand pencil he has promised Jefferson, even if it makes him late forhis meeting with the others, he indicates his desire to build trustbetween himself and Jefferson. And by addressing Jefferson as“ partner” and asking him to be his friend, he indicates his willing-ness to talk to him man to man, thus demonstrating by his behav-

ior that Jefferson is worthy of respect.During this visit, Grant also demonstrates two characteristics

we have not seen him exercise before: patience and compassion.Instead of lecturing Jefferson about his behavior, he takes time toexplain to him how his behavior is affecting Miss Emma and what

49



he can do to ease her pain. In effect, he teaches Jefferson three important lessons on friendship, heroism, and the devastating power

of racial myths. But instead of merely defining these concepts inabstract terms, he defines them through example and analogy. Toreinforce his lessons, he relates them to Jefferson’s life experience,thereby demonstrating how these seemingly abstract concepts apply to him personally. For example, to illustrate the concept of friendship, he points out what Jefferson can do to be a friend to hisnannan; to illustrate the concept of heroism, Grant points out thata hero is not an extraordinary person, but an ordinary person who

does things for others, such as taking a stand against injustice; andto point out that human beings have the power, potential, and re-sponsibility to create their own lives, Grant reminds Jefferson of the slingshot handle that Mr. Farrell made for him out of scraps of driftwood. Consequently, as we listen to Grant, we realize that heis finally becoming a teacher in the true sense of the term — that is,he is beginning to awaken and nurture in others the desire to learn,rather than being someone who attempts to force others to learn

through fear and ridicule. In effect, Grant teaches the same lessonon moral obligation and personal responsibility that he attemptedto teach earlier (see Chapter 18). But this time, because Grant takestime to develop a personal relationship built on trust and respect,to establish solid connections between his lesson and Jefferson’slife experience, to use simple everyday language, and to present Jefferson with a frame of reference that makes the lesson relevantand applicable to him personally, Jefferson understands and re-

sponds. In short, by getting through to Jefferson, Grant has also“gotten through” to his own innate ability to teach through example and practical application.

Unfortunately, Grant still has a few hard lessons of his own tolearn, as we discover in his encounter with the two mulatto brick-layers at the Rainbow Club. Having just explained to Jefferson themerits of personal choice and responsibility, he allows his anger toward the two bricklayers to overrule his better judgment. To makematters worse, instead of admitting his mistake, he attempts to ra-tionalize his behavior to Vivian and becomes angry when she points out that, by endangering his life through his reckless behav-ior, he was not being considerate of her feelings. Despite herexplanation, he fails to see the connection between his behavior

50



and Jefferson’s, and to realize that, had Claiborne and Vivian notbeen there to defuse the situation and intercede on his behalf, he,

too, might have ended up in jail for murder.

• gumbo a thick, hearty stew made with a variety of ingredients, suchas meat, vegetables, and fish.

• Their forefathers said that we’re only three-fifths human.Grant’s comment refers to the “three-fifths compromise” in the UnitedStates Constitution. According to this compromise, designed to placateboth the North and the South, it was agreed to determine representa-

tives and direct taxes “by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding

Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.” Although theConstitution does not mention the word “slavery,” by this provisionthree slaves were counted for every five non-slaves (whites) in appor-tioning representation.

CHAPTER 27

Summary

It is Sunday, and Grant is in his room, grading papers and lis-tening to the music coming from the church. As he works, he hearsTante Lou and her friends returning from church. Minutes later,Tante Lou knocks on his door and tells him that Rev. Ambrose wants to talk to him. Grant invites the reverend in, and the twomen debate the merits of religion versus education, as Rev.Ambrose tries to convince Grant to help him save Jefferson’s soul.

Commentary

As Grant and Rev. Ambrose debate the role of education, theyreveal their conflicting views. For Grant, education means employ-ment and an escape from the grinding poverty of his community.For Rev. Ambrose, education represents an opportunity to gain

knowledge and entails a responsibility to use that knowledge tohelp others.

The men’s opposing views on this subject are brought to a cli-max when Grant declares, “I went to college,” and Rev. Ambrosecounters with, “But what did you learn?” As far as the reverend is

51



concerned, simply acquiring knowledge through “booklearning”does not make one an educated individual. And since Grant has

made no effort to use his knowledge to enrich the lives of others,Rev. Ambrose refuses to acknowledge him as an educated man.

Grant’s situation reflects the problem of many educated blacks who find that their formal education has separated them fromtheir culture and community. Although Grant has a college degree,he lacks the intelligence (common sense) to deal effectively witheveryday issues. In other words, he has been mis-educated.Consequently, instead of preparing him to teach his people, his ed-

ucation has taught him to look down on uneducated individualssuch as Jefferson and Rev. Ambrose. By asking Grant, “What did you learn?” Rev. Ambrose voices his contempt for an educationalsystem that fails to provide black Americans with an educationthat will enable them to function as educated citizens and assumeleadership roles in their community. His position echoes that of historian Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), who argued thatAmerica’s education system is designed to enslave the minds of

blacks and to perpetuate the myth of black inferiority. As he con-tends in his groundbreaking book, The Mis-Education of the Negro,“Taught the same economics, history, philosophy, literature, and re-ligion which have established the present code of morals, theNegro’s mind has been brought under the control of his oppressor.The problem of holding the Negro down, therefore, is easilysolved. When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. . . . The Negro thus educated is a hopeless

liability to the race. The difficulty is that the ‘educated’ Negro iscompelled to live and move among his own people whom he hasbeen taught to despise.”

Note that Woodson’s and Rev. Ambrose’s view of educationdiffers radically from the view espoused by Jefferson’s defense at-torney in Chapter 1. Recall that the attorney denounces Jeffersonas uncivilized and uneducated because he is not familiar with the works of Byron, Shelley, and Keats. As a college graduate, Grant is(we can assume) familiar with these authors, yet, from a practicaland humanistic perspective, he is still uneducated.

Also significant is Rev. Ambrose’s candid statement that he hasno qualms about lying to protect others’ feelings, which presumesthat he is responding to a “higher” or “deeper” truth. Given society’s

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indoctrination concerning the sacred value of absolute truth, we cansurmise that the reverend’s revelation shocks Grant. (Consider, for

example, the biblical adage that “the truth shall set you free” orKeats’ assertion in “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” that “truth is beauty.”)But we can also conjecture that because of the reverend’s comment,Grant is able, for the first time, to see Rev. Ambrose as a man and asa fallible human being.

• You think a man can’t kneel and stand? Rev. Ambrose’s questiontakes on added significance if we recall Miss Emma’s remark to Henri

Pichot in Chapter 3: “I’ll be on my knees next time you see me, Mr.Henri.” Sustained by her faith, her courage, and her fierce love for

Jefferson, Miss Emma is able to “kneel and stand.” Grant has yet tolearn this lesson: There is dignity and value in service and humility

when there is dignity and value in the person who exhibits them and

the cause that calls them forth.

CHAPTER 28

Summary

On his next visit with Jefferson, Grant persuades him to talk toRev. Ambrose. They discuss prayer and dying. Jefferson offersGrant a sweet potato.

Commentary

This chapter is one of the most powerful in the book as Jefferson accepts his human condition and Grant has his eyesopened to his own need to affirm the dignity of all individuals andhis own complicity in the attitudes that have held his people back.

In addition, we see three key “lessons” underlying this chapter:moral obligation, the value of education, and the role and respon-sibility of teachers.

Both Grant and Jefferson accept their moral obligations. Grant

does what the reverend asked him to do, but he doesn’t lie to Jefferson concerning his own beliefs. He tells him that he believesin God, but admits that he is not convinced of an afterlife and spir-itual salvation. Jefferson recognizes his moral obligation to “take

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the cross” for the whole community and to thank his nannan bygiving her hope of seeing him in heaven. Jefferson’s offering Grant

a sweet potato symbolizes Jefferson’s realization that he is a hu-man being with something to offer. He can “give back” to the com-munity. He has learned his lesson: He is a man, not a hog. Jefferson no longer blames Grant for his situation. By offeringGrant a sweet potato, he demonstrates his forgiveness and his af-fection for Grant. The sweet potato is all he has, but he’s willing toshare it because he realizes that Grant has helped him to regain hismanhood.

Concerning the value of education, we must reconsider whatmakes up basic skills: Are they reading, writing, and arithmetic, orare they skills necessary to survive in a hostile environment, which may not enable one to advance in that environment? Whatgood are basic skills if they don’t translate into job skills and eco-nomic success? Students are generally told that they need to mas-ter their basic skills in order to get a good job. But what is themotivation for these students? If they realize that their years of ed-

ucation will ultimately be economically meaningless, how willthey learn the intrinsic value of education? The chapter reconsid-ers issues that are threaded throughout this novel concerningknowledge (information) versus education (formal “book learning”)and wisdom (intuitive knowledge and “common sense”).

A teacher is not necessarily a professor or someone who pro-vides formal “book learning.” A teacher is anyone who sharesknowledge and experience with another, someone who strives to

help someone else enhance personal awareness. Jefferson is, infact, teaching Grant, as Grant is teaching Jefferson. Their relation-ship illustrates that a person can make a difference by reaching outto just one individual — an approach expressed in the philosophyof the National Association for the Advancement of ColoredPeople: “Each one, teach one.”

The chapter also reinforces the connection between Jefferson’srole in the transformation of the black community and Christ’srole in the salvation of all people, including the black community. Jefferson is scheduled to die on a Friday, recalling Good Friday. Herecalls that Jesus “never said a mumbling word.” This scene parallels Christ’s agony in the garden. Jefferson realizes that he is

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being asked to take the cross: “Your cross, nannan’s cross, my owncross. . . . You’all axe a lot, Mr. Wiggins. . . .Who ever car’d my

cross?” Jefferson also challenges Grant for his complicity in theidea that Jefferson was somehow less than “ youman.” Grant hangshis head, presumably ashamed, and acknowledges his fault: “Myeyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes havebeen closed all my life. Yes, we all need you. Every last one of us.”

CHAPTER 29

Summary

In his diary, Jefferson records his thoughts and feelings as heawaits his impending execution.

Commentary

Throughout history, letters and diaries have been importantmedia for recording social and political history. Written primarily

to record a writer’s personal feelings, activities, reflections, and ob-servations, these documents generally demonstrate a candid hon-esty and openness not found in writings created for publication.Examples include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter fromBirmingham” (written on scraps of paper provided to King by the jail’s black trustees) and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Jefferson’s diary is his legacy. Having no land, property,children, or material wealth to leave behind, his diary is the single

testament to his life. By recording his thoughts and feelings as heawaits execution, Jefferson, in effect, writes himself into history.His diary is a primary source historical document that provides a personal account of his life as a young black man growing up on aSouthern plantation and now as an inmate on Louisiana’s deathrow. Since it records his story in his own voice, Jefferson’s diary canbe likened to the early slave narratives, stories written by formerenslaved Africans who recounted their harrowing experiences.Examples of slave narratives include Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

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Despite his grim circumstances, Jefferson focuses the majorityof his entries on positive events: the routine visits from Miss

Emma, Tante Lou, Rev. Ambrose, and Grant, and the surprise vis-its from Grant’s students and the people from the quarter. Since hehas so little time left, we can gauge the significance of the eventshe records by the length of his entries. Consequently, we can sur-mise that some of his most significant events center on his visits with the children and the “old folks.” We can also surmise that hetreasures his childhood memories and the little gifts he receivesfrom others that make him feel loved, especially Vivian’s kiss and

Bok’s marble. Although Jefferson is aware of Sheriff Guidry’s sinis-ter motive for giving him “the little pearl handled knife,” he doesn’tdwell on this incident. Instead, he details his final visit with his god-mother and his “last supper,” which, as he requested, is not junk

food (a gallon of vanilla ice cream) but soul food (a special home-cooked meal prepared by his nannan). Note that for dessert, he hasa little ice cream and a moon pie (a chocolate-covered chocolatecookie “sandwich” with a marshmallow cream filling). Since these

are foods he loved as a child, we realize that, although he has ma-tured mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, he still retains a partof his childhood. We can also surmise that despite his harrowingexperience, he has retained some part of his childlike love andtrust. In effect, Jefferson has achieved a more balanced outlook onlife that encompasses both his childhood dreams and the reality of his adult life.

In his diary, Jefferson expresses intimate feelings he has not

been able previously to articulate, such as his love for his nannan,his affection for Grant, and his fear of dying. Alone with his privatethoughts, he is able, for the first time, to acknowledge his part inthe tragic events surrounding Alcee Gropé’s murder and to acceptresponsibility for his actions, admitting that he had a choice thatfateful night. He realizes that he was not only guilty of being “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” as his defense attorney points outin Chapter 1, but he was also guilty of relinquishing his right tochoose or, alternatively, of making the wrong choice. Consequently,he realizes that there was a point in time when, had he made a dif-ferent choice, his life might have taken a different turn. Once he isable to accept this fact, he is able to release his hatred toward hiscaptors and to accept his fate with grace and dignity.

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In reading Jefferson’s diary, we find him to be a sensitive, in-telligent, introspective man (not unlike Mr. Farrell Jarreau) whose

potential for a full and meaningful life has been stunted by povertyand racism. We see him not only as an uneducated, incarceratedblack male, but as someone’s son and someone’s friend. We seehim not only as yet another statistic of crime and violence, but as ahard-working, fun-loving young man who enjoys simple pleasuressuch as listening to music and reveling in the beauty of nature,someone who loves children and enjoys eating his nannan’s homecooking.

We also realize the impact of Grant’s thoughtful but seeminglysimple gift: By giving Jefferson a pencil and a note pad, he has alsogiven him the gift of language and self-expression, which we haveseen as an important theme in this book. Jefferson has an opportu-nity to leave behind him a lesson and a legacy for future genera-tions, becoming a part of history in the lives of ordinary people.Through his diary, which documents his life as a vital and con-tributing member of his community, Jefferson has become an

everyday hero whose story deserves to be told and who has as-sumed the personal responsibility for telling his story in his own words. Jefferson has not achieved the status and renown of a JoeLouis or a Jackie Robinson, but by reaching out and reconnecting with his community, he has learned to stand and to reclaim hismanhood despite a dehumanizing environment bent on destroyinghis very soul. As a result, Jefferson’s life stands as a testament tothe ongoing struggle for love, acceptance, and survival in an often

lonely and hostile world.

• bloodweed another name for the blood lily (native to Africa), a deep

red plant of the amaryllis family.

CHAPTER 30

SummaryThe portable electric chair (“Gruesome Gerty”) is brought to

town and townspeople react to its presence. Final preparations aremade for Jefferson’s execution.

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Commentary

This chapter echoes the opening paradox of being there and

not being there. Anticipation of Jefferson’s imminent execution is palpable, but Jefferson is not a major part of this chapter;Gruesome Gerty, however, is a major character as it winds its waythrough town in a journey reminiscent of the Way of the Cross.The execution will occur between noon and 3 P.M. on Friday, thesame time-frame as that of Jesus’s crucifixion, another parallel tothe Christian drama of human salvation. We can almost see thefaith of Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose being playedout at Jefferson’s end as he experiences death and rebirth at thesame time.

Note that, in portraying Gruesome Gerty as one of the key players in the unfolding drama of Jefferson’s life, the author uses personification— a linguistic device that attributes human charac-teristics to inanimate objects. In effect, Gerty is depicted as the personification of evil. As she is paraded down the streets of

Bayonne, she strikes fear into the hearts of its citizens. We can sur-mise that part of the fear is due to their guilt, as Gerty forces themto admit that, by not taking a stand against a racist system that perpetuates crime and violence, they are all responsible for Jefferson’sdeath. Gerty’s ominous presence and the awful noise from hergenerator also force the reader to focus on the reality of capital punishment and to consider the mentality of the people involvedin planning and carrying out the execution.

Here again, fact blends with fiction: In a 1994 interview,Gaines noted that Louisiana really did have a portable electricchair that was transported throughout the state and used for exe-cutions, much as he describes it here. The executioner’s insistencethat the proper procedures be followed to prepare for the execu-tion is also significant. In the same 1994 interview, Gaines recalls a particularly gruesome case in 1947 in which a young man was sen-tenced to the electric chair twice because “the chair had failed to

work properly the first time.” As Gaines’ research indicates, capital punishment by electrocution was widely practiced in the Southduring the 1940s, a fact that has been extensively documented.

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Chapter 30 provides a sharp contrast to Chapter 19, in whichthe black community gathers at the plantation church/school to

demonstrate their support for Jefferson. We realize that, whereasthe black community mourns Jefferson’s impending execution as atragedy, the white community generally views it as a distastefulbut routine matter that must be taken care of to guarantee theirsafety. And while the black community views the execution as yetanother instance of a defenseless black man dying at the hands of his white oppressors, the white community views Jefferson’sexecution as a necessary evil. As the store clerk explains to her son,

the sheriff “ just had to put an old bad nigger away.”But regardless of their differing perspectives, we realize that

both blacks and whites are affected by the impending execution, which is on everyone’s mind. As they perform their morning rituals,both Sheriff Guidry and Rev. Ambrose are consumed withthoughts of Jefferson, while the executioner, Paul, and the other prisoners are also forced to play their parts.

Like Chapter 20, in which Mr. Farrell Jarreau seems to physi-

cally shrink after hearing that the date for Jefferson’s execution hasbeen set, this chapter reaffirms the theme of the interconnected-ness of human beings.

In another foreshadowing of the Civil Rights movement, onthis day of execution, it is the white deputy Paul who connects with Jefferson in his last hours, who strives to make his time eas-ier, and who accepts the items that Jefferson is leaving for Grantand Mr. Pichot. Paul represents the impact that Jefferson’s trans-

formation is having on the white community. Although Paul turnsdown Jefferson’s gift of the radio, he makes it instead a gift to Jefferson’s fellow inmates, acknowledging his shared humanity with the prison inmates. Paul does accept the gift of a marble, af-firming his friendship and respect for Jefferson and revealing Jefferson’s friendship and respect for Paul. Jefferson appreciatesthe fact that Paul will “be there” for him as he’s executed, unitingblack and white in this tragedy.

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• a bowl of cush-cush a type of cereal; often spelled couscous, a kindof semolina.

CHAPTER 31

Summary

To show their respect for Jefferson, the people of the quarterhave agreed to refrain from working on the day of his execution.While Grant waits for word from the courthouse, he has his stu-

dents get down on their knees and pray silently. Finally, Paularrives to tell Grant that the execution is over, that Jefferson facedhis death with courage and dignity, and that his last words were,“Tell Nannan I walked.” He gives Jefferson’s diary to Grant and of-fers him his friendship. Grant accepts the diary, returns to hisclassroom to share the news with his students, and cries openlyover his friend’s death.

Commentary

As Grant awaits the news of Jefferson’s execution, he thinksabout his own days as a student in the little country church wherehe is now the teacher. He remembers playing ragball with hisfriends and notes that most of them have moved away and manydied at an early age. He also thinks about Jefferson, silently askshis forgiveness for not encouraging his faith, and chastises himself

for not having the courage to witness the execution. Suddenly, histhoughts are interrupted by an unusual sight: A yellow butterflyalights briefly on a hill of bull grass, then flies off toward the quar-ter. As he watches the butterfly, he realizes that the execution is fi-nally over. Consequently, when Paul arrives to deliver the news of Jefferson’s death, he accepts it calmly. He also accepts Jefferson’sdiary and Paul’s offer of friendship.

This chapter contains four highly symbolic scenes that provide

a poignant commentary on the events surrounding Jefferson’s exe-cution. The first scene involves the image of the church sinkinginto the ground, despite repeated efforts to rebuild its foundation.

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Note that this image is juxtaposed against the tragic image of wasted young lives and of Henri Pichot’s house, “sitting on its

foundation high above the ground.” In effect, the church is literallylosing ground because it lacks a firm foundation of faith. It has lostthe ability to save the children of the community. Conversely, thePichot mansion, built on a solid foundation of Southern cultureand tradition, is able to withstand the elements.

The second scene involves the yellow butterfly. Grant realizesthat this is no ordinary butterfly, since it does not seek the fra-grance of the flowers in Pichot’s yard. Instead, it alights briefly on

a hill of bull grass and then flies off toward the quarter. This sceneassumes profound significance when we recall that the color yel-low often symbolizes enlightenment, and note, too, the repetitionof the concept of “light” to describe the butterfly’s movements. Jefferson’s transformation from a hog to a man to a spiritualessence is complete.

The third scene focuses on Grant’s conversation with Paul as a witness to the execution. Paul’s frequently reciting of “I’m a wit-

ness” and his telling Grant about Jefferson’s last minutes parallelthe Apostle Paul’s witness to the Christian message: “Tell them he was the bravest man in that room today. I’m a witness, GrantWiggins. Tell them so.” Grant suggests that Paul come back oneday and tell them himself, which Paul accepts as “an honor.” Thus we see the impact of this event in black history on the white com-munity, and Grant and Paul, black and white, collaborate inspreading this human story.

The fourth scene focuses on Grant’s subsequent return to hisclassroom, where he faces his students and starts to cry openly,making no effort to hide his tears. Note that, at this point, he hasrelinquished his Westcott ruler, indicating that, through his rela-tionship with Jefferson, he, too, has been transformed from a bit-ter, cynical man to a caring, compassionate teacher.

Jefferson’s last words — “Tell Nannan I walked” — are a tributeto his godmother and a testament to the profound impact Granthas had on his life: Grant has not only enabled Jefferson to stand,but to walk. Grant’s impact on Jefferson is reflected in Jefferson’simpact on the community, which has transformed the tragedy of his death into a celebration of life.

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• a patch of white lilies White lilies, also known as Easter lilies, aregenerally associated with the resurrection of Christ.

• I am a slave. Grant realizes that he is still mentally enslaved. Eventhough he is physically free, he has not acted responsibly. When he is fi-nally able to cry, we realize that he has gained his freedom through

Jefferson’s death (Jefferson’s death is Grant’s redemption and deliver-ance). We also realize that he has learned the lesson Rev. Ambrose hasbeen trying to teach him: A man can stand and kneel at the same time.

• The driver drove slowly to keep down the dust. Here, dust sym-

bolizes death.

CHARACTER ANALYSES

GRANT WIGGINS & JEFFERSON

Grant Wiggins and Jefferson are the novel’s dual protagonists.

Their individual survivals depend on their mutual support.Although it is Jefferson’s story, it is narrated by Grant, with the ex-ception of Chapter 29, in which Jefferson is finally able to tell hisstory in his own voice, through his diary. And although Grant hastaken on the monumental task of making Jefferson a man, as thestory unfolds, it becomes clear that Grant’s fate is inextricablybound to Jefferson’s. In order to help Jefferson “stand,” Grant mustfirst come to terms with his own inner demons, which threaten to

make him an emotional cripple like his predecessor, MatthewAntoine. In short, the two men must support each other, for nei-ther is able to stand alone. Unlike the conventional hero whothrives on total independence, Grant can be a “hero” only throughhis interaction with Jefferson, and vice versa. This approach to thenovel focuses on the Afrocentric perspective in which the needs of the individual are sublimated to the needs of the community.Further, although Grant and Jefferson are not blood relatives, they

are connected through their common experiences as black males.Although physically free, Grant lives in a mental prison of his

own making created by his hatred of whites, his arrogance, and hisdetachment from the black community. As an educated man, hesees himself as superior to people like Jefferson and Rev. Ambrose.Instead of preparing him to contribute to his community, his for-

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Grant is a disillusioned product of the black church. He is in-sensitive and inconsiderate, as Vivian points out (he doesn’t con-

sider the impact of his actions on others), and he is immature (hedoesn’t stop to think of the pain that his actions could cause). He isnot prepared for the responsibilities of leadership. He wants free-dom without responsibility.

Although he sets out to teach Jefferson to “be a man,” he hasdoubts about his own humanity. His feelings towards Jefferson re-flect Matthew Antoine’s feelings about blacks. While Antoine feelssuperior because of his lighter skin color, Grant feels superior

because of his education, which, he thinks, puts him in a highersocial class.

Jefferson exemplifies the young black male who has internal-ized into self-hatred the hatred shown him by white racists.Because of his court-appointed attorney’s racist remark, he seeshimself as a beast — not worthy of the dignity and respect due allhuman beings. His lack of self-worth and self-esteem is a majorfactor in his apathy and defeatist attitude. In order to reach him,

Grant must first break through the barrier of his self-hate.In effect, Jefferson feels that he was not condemned to die like

a man, but to be destroyed like a beast. Worse, he believes that heis no better than a dumb animal and that he deserves to die, sincehe sees his life as worthless.

When he thanks Grant for the pecans, apologizes for his ob-scene comments regarding Vivian, offers Grant a sweet potato, andbegins to write in his journal, he becomes transformed. Also note

that he writes in his diary, “Man walks on two feet; pigs on four”after Grant has convinced him that the racial myth stating that hislife is worthless is absolutely wrong: Jefferson’s life does havemeaning.

Note that Jefferson is not illiterate; he is merely uneducated.Consequently, he knows wrong from right. Jefferson has workedhard all his life. He is not the stereotypical lazy, shiftless Negro. Hehas grown up without a male role model, but he has been raised with love by his godmother, Miss Emma.

Jefferson respects his elders and is on friendly terms with AlceeGropé, who asks about Jefferson’s nannan. He was raised by MissEmma and Mr. Oscar, his godparents. He likes cake, candy, and icecream, which symbolize his yearning for fun and enjoyment. He

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had a friend named Boo, who apparently went insane. He enjoyedgoing hunting with his friend Gable. He has never expressed his

feelings for anyone, or had anyone express their feelings for him.He knows his Bible. He is quiet and generally keeps to himself,much like Mr. Farrell Jarreau. He likes music. He is naive, passive,and easily influenced. Note that he still refers to Miss Emma as his“nannan,” suggesting his naivete and childlike innocence.

MISS EMMA & TANTE LOU

Miss Emma and her lifelong friend, Tante Lou, are virtually in-separable. At times, they seem so close that it is difficult to tell which one is speaking. The women support each other and giveeach other the courage to continue on despite the hostile circum-stances that surround them. Each has hope for the future and adeep, abiding faith in God that is nurtured and supported by theirfriendship. And each is determined to help Jefferson, believingthat he represents an opportunity to provide a sense of continuity

for the community. Although both women are outspoken, heavy-set, and deeply religious, they are not portrayed as the stereotypi-cal “mammy” or “Aunt Jemima” types of black women; instead,they are hard-working, dignified women who command respect.Miss Emma and Tante Lou are decidedly strong black women wholove their families and care about their community.

Miss Emma provides the catalyst for changing an unjust andinequitable system. Although Grant is the “hero” figure who en-

ables Jefferson to die with dignity, it is Miss Emma who sets thingsin motion. She is the one who persuades Grant to accompany herand Tante Lou to Henri Pichot’s mansion, where she convincesPichot to speak to his brother-in-law, Sheriff Guidry, to allowGrant to visit Jefferson. And in the end, although the men (Grantand Rev. Ambrose) get most of the credit for Jefferson’s redemp-tion and transformation, we know that it was Miss Emma’s boldact that triggered the sequence of events culminating in Jefferson’s

ability to “stand.” Likewise, it is Tante Lou who has always keptGrant on the morally straight and narrow path of life.

In a 1994 interview, Gaines pointed out that Miss Emma’s years of service to the Pichot family is “symbolic of what theblacks have given to the South.” Note that although Pichot is ini-tially irritated with Miss Emma’s insistence that he owes her a fa-vor because of all she has done for his family, he reluctantly

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Although she is not as outspoken and overbearing as MissEmma and Tante Lou, Vivian is definitely a strong black woman.

In many instances, her strength emphasizes Grant’s weakness. Shehas defied her family by marrying a dark-skinned black man, eventhough her action causes her to be ostracized from her family. Incontrast, Grant is afraid to become involved with Jefferson, lest hebe identified with him. Although she loves Grant, she does nothesitate to point out his shortcomings, tactfully, without challeng-ing his male ego. Vivian is a lady, refusing to let Grant take advan-tage of her. After nursing his wounds following his barroom brawl,

she gives him an ultimatum: Unless he is willing to show her someconsideration, she will leave him.

Grant’s relationship with Vivian appears to be rather one-sided. Grant expects her to be there for him, but he thinks of heronly in terms of his wants and needs. Vivian is there to satisfy hisneed for sex and conversation. She is there to support him and tonurse his wounds. We never see him reciprocate. While Vivian is willing to accept her responsibilities as a mother, teacher, and

lover, Grant is unwilling to assume the responsibilities that accompany his roles as nephew, teacher, and lover. For him, being ateacher means having a steady job and a measure of status in hiscommunity. For Vivian, it means being a leader and role model.

While Grant’s attitude perpetuates the cycle of poverty andracism, Vivian takes an active role in trying to change the status quo.And while Grant is content to go through the motions of teaching,Vivian challenges her students and gives them hope for the future.

Vivian’s goal is to instill hope in her students for a brighter futureand a life outside the limited plantation community. She does thisby building their self-esteem and helping them become contribut-ing members of the community, while Grant — as evidenced by hisever-present Westcott ruler — is primarily concerned with controland discipline.

A classic example that illustrates their divergent approach toteaching is their method of teaching students to write a simple sen-tence: While Grant ridicules and humiliates his student who can’t write her simple sentence in a straight line, Vivian encourages herstudents, who are learning to write simple sentences in French. By

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teaching her students French, Vivian is embracing her Creole her-itage. By helping her students transcend their cultural boundaries

by learning a foreign language, she is also teaching them to tran-scend their geographic boundaries and their perceived personallimits. As she points out to Grant, “We’re teachers and we have acommitment.”

Note that Vivian is a graduate of Xavier University, a Catholicuniversity in Lafayette, Louisiana. She has learned that the illusionof status and class is empty and meaningless. She has beendisowned by her family for marrying a dark-skinned man, who

eventually deserts her and her children. But Vivian is not bitterand disillusioned. Instead, she has learned to cope with her prob-lems and move on, unlike Matthew, who allows others — and ulti-mately his own self-hatred — to destroy him.

Ultimately, Vivian has a greater influence on Grant than doesMatthew. While Matthew appealed to Grant’s baser instincts,Vivian brings out the best in him. She gives him love and support, whereas Matthew was so blinded by his hatred that he could not

see beyond it in order to help develop his students’ better selves.

REV. MOSE AMBROSE

Rev. Ambrose defies the stereotype of the black preacher soobsessed with preaching the gospel and extolling the virtues of lifein the hereafter that he ignores the immediate needs of his people.Although Rev. Ambrose believes he has been called by God to lead

his people out of the darkness of despair into the light of salvation,he has not lost sight of their everyday needs. Rev. Ambrose exemplifies a minister who is truly dedicated to serving others. Like the proverbial shepherd, he is out in the community, tending his flock.It is Rev. Ambrose who stands by Miss Emma, offering moralsupport as well as spiritual guidance. It is Rev. Ambrose who con-fronts Grant concerning his lack of faith. And it is Rev. Ambrose who stands by Jefferson during his final days and witnesses his

execution.Rev. Ambrose realizes that Grant looks down on him as being

an uneducated man, but he is not afraid to stand up to Grant and put him in his place. As symbolized by his name, Rev. Ambrose isa leader (like Moses) who is bent on delivering his people from thebondage of mental slavery and seeks to provide them with spiritual

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food (ambrosia). Like Miss Emma, Rev. Ambrose does not allow pride to stand in his way when it comes to getting his work done.

He is also willing to overlook his personal needs in order to meetthe needs of others. For example, while Grant steadfastly refusesInez’s offer of coffee, Rev. Ambrose accepts the coffee and joins herat the kitchen table, perhaps sensing that she needs some company.Similarly, while Grant is furious at being forced to enter the Pichotmansion through the back door, Rev. Ambrose ignores this insult andfocuses on the issue at hand: obtaining visiting privileges for Grant.

To some, the reverend’s quiet, deferential behavior might label

him as a stereotypical “Uncle Tom.” But as we watch him interact with whites, we realize that his prime motive is survival and get-ting what he wants for his community, even if it means enduringhumiliation.

Although he is uneducated, he is wise and compassionate. Heis supported by his faith. He has the courage to face reality. He is asimple, humble man who provides a counterpart to Grant’s prideand arrogance.

PAUL BONIN

Although not directly involved with Grant and Jefferson, Paulis one of the key characters in the novel. Along with Miss Emma,Paul symbolizes the hope of the Civil Rights movement, which promised to transform the social, political, and economic relation-ships between blacks and whites.

As noted in the Introduction to the Novel section, the theme of transformation pervades the novel. To understand Paul’s pivotalrole in the transformation process, we must analyze three key aspects of his character: the symbolism and allusion surrounding hisname; his role as a white authority figure; and his attitude towardGrant, Jefferson, and Miss Emma.

In literature, and especially in African-American literature,names often provide insight into a character’s soul. In this novel,

Gaines places special emphasis on Paul’s name. Recall that even be-fore Paul invites Grant to call him by his first name, Grant tellsVivian in Chapter 9 that he dreams of naming his future son “Paul.”Keeping in mind Grant’s ambivalent attitude toward religion, asdemonstrated by his confrontation with Rev. Ambrose, it is signifi-cant to note that the biblical Paul is one of the most influential figures

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of the New Testament. The story of his miraculous transformationfrom Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of the early Christians, to the

Apostle Paul, a devout Christian and disciple of Jesus Christ, is oftencited as one of the most inspiring testaments to the power of Christ.To countless Christians, Paul’s life exemplifies hope and illustratesnot only the changes that can be wrought in one individual’s lifebased on faith, but also the profound impact that one individualcan have on the lives of others. At the end of the book, as PaulBonin bears witness to Jefferson’s “death and resurrection,” we seePaul accepting the same role as the biblical Paul in bearing witness

and spreading the truth.In the novel, Paul Bonin’s role as a white authority figure is

also significant. Although he takes his work seriously and performshis prescribed duties, such as inspecting the food brought into the jail and searching Jefferson’s visitors, he makes an effort to breakdown the barriers between him and Grant and demonstrates hisconcern for Miss Emma. He also jokes with the prisoners and does what he can to treat them as men rather than as caged animals.

Just as Miss Emma signals Vivian’s acceptance into the com-munity of women (Chapter 9), Grant signals Paul’s acceptance intothe community of men by encouraging Jefferson to trust Paul.(Note that, on numerous occasions, Miss Emma refers to Paul asbeing “from good stock,” indicating that, like Vivian, he is “quality”folk.) Jefferson accepts Grant’s judgment, since he trusts Paul withhis diary and offers him the radio, his most prized possession.Since Paul personally delivers the diary to Grant, we realize that

Jefferson’s trust has not been misplaced and that Paul genuinelyvalues his friendship with Grant and Jefferson.

Paul’s role is also significant in that it challenges the stereotypeof the racist white Southern law officer. In this capacity, Paul’s roleis comparable to that of Gil Bouton, a character in Gaines’ fifthnovel, A Gathering of Old Men. Like Paul, Gil, a young white male,also demonstrates his respect and commitment to his black friend,Cal Harrison.

MR. FARRELL JARREAU

Mr. Farrell Jarreau is the only black male in the novel who isconsistently addressed as “Mr.” Even though Mr. Farrell Jarreau isemployed as Henri Pichot’s yardman and messenger and has been

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subjected to the same indignities and humiliations as the othermen in the quarter, he has been able to transcend his physical en-

vironment and retain his dignity and self-respect.As a messenger, Mr. Farrell Jarreau is the bridge between the

black and white community, which is indicated by his being sentto deliver numerous messages to Grant at the plantation school.But he is much more than that. He is also a loving husband to his“little Creole wife,” thereby dispelling the stereotype (held byVivian’s parents) of the poor black man who vents his frustrationsby abusing his wife. Through Grant’s conversation with Jefferson

in Chapter 24, we also discover that Mr. Farrell Jarreau is noted forhis fine wood carvings. Even though he is unable to develop hisartistic talent, he enjoys creating things with his own hands.Ultimately, this quality is what sets him apart from other men,such as Matthew Antoine, who have become victims of the racistsociety in which they live: Mr. Farrell Jarreau has refused to be-come an object to be acted upon; in his own quiet, unassuming way, he has taken control of his life and retains his role as a human

subject who creates his own life out of the scraps he has beengiven. Through his initiative and creativity, he is able to fashionsomething beautiful out of something ordinary.

Although he is a minor character, Mr. Farrell Jarreau plays amajor part in defining black manhood. In essence, he demonstratesthat, as Rev. Ambrose points out, a man can kneel and stand at thesame time.

CRITICAL ESSAYS

POINT OF VIEW, PLOT, AND SETTING

Although Gaines uses first-person narration (the story is toldfrom Grant’s perspective), readers are not limited to Grant’s pointof view. Gaines has said that using a narrator who reports events as

others reveal them (note Grant’s oft-repeated remark, “I learnedlater . . .”) is one of the narrative devices he uses to get inside hischaracters’ heads without resorting to omniscient (third-person)narration. Much of the action in the novel occurs on a psychologi-cal rather than a physical level. Although we “hear” Grant’s voice,the novel is ultimately Jefferson’s story.

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While the story of Lesson focuses on Jefferson’s trial and exe-cution, the plot focuses on the struggles of poor, oppressed people

to gain a measure of pride and dignity within a hostile, racist envi-ronment. The novel begins with Jefferson’s trial, moves brieflyback into the immediate past to reconstruct the events surroundingAlcee Gropé’s murder, and then moves relentlessly forward,culminating in Jefferson’s execution. Along the way, we witnesslife in the black, segregated community of Bayonne, which, al-though it appears to go on without interruption, is deeply affectedby Jefferson’s impending death. Consequently, we realize that

Jefferson’s execution, which is generally perceived as a distastefulbut necessary task by the majority of the white community, is anoccasion for much sorrow and grief for the black community.

Setting — both physical and psychological— plays a key role in Lesson. The novel is set in the fictional community of Bayonne,Louisiana, in the pre-Civil Rights South. Much of the beauty and power of Gaines’ writing derives from his ability to re-create asense of place and to transport his readers back to life on a

Louisiana sugar cane plantation during the pre-Civil Rights era.Although Gaines rejects all efforts to label him as primarily a black writer, a Southern writer, a California writer, and so forth, he seemscomfortable with the title of regional writer. As he points out in aninterview, “All the great writers are regionalists. Faulkner wroteabout Mississippi, Homer about Greece, Balzac about Paris,Shakespeare about a kind of England. But that doesn’t mean they’renot universal. People write about what they know best, and readers

respond to that wherever they happen to live.”Gaines works his magic in several ways: through his meticu-

lous attention to detail, his focus on “local color” (such as regionallanguage, culture, and foods), and his faithful rendition of conver-sations. He has said about himself that he is not a storyteller; hesimply records conversations.

THE PRE-CIVIL RIGHTS SOUTH

The pre-Civil Rights era bridges the gap between the end of theCivil War (1865) and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement(1955). For African Americans, it spans the turbulent years be-tween the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 31,

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1863), which marked the beginning of the end of slavery, and thesigning of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which guaranteed the rights

of African Americans as full-fledged citizens.For black Americans, the pre-Civil Rights era was a time of

danger and turmoil, as they set out to claim their rights as U.S. cit-izens in a hostile country that refused to grant them those rights.As Gaines illustrates in depicting the lives of the people in thequarter, many blacks lived in poverty, denied the right to earn a de-cent wage by white landowners who kept them in a virtual state of slavery as sharecroppers.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery inthe Confederate states, it was not until the passage of the thir-teenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution two years later(December 18, 1865) that slavery was abolished throughout thecountry. To mitigate its effect, the Ku Klux Klan, founded inPulaski, Tennessee, began its reign of terror against newly enfran-chised blacks, marking the beginning of a series of events gearedtoward keeping blacks “in their place.”

Following the passage of the fifteenth amendment (March 30,1870) granting all male citizens the right to vote, Southern statestook immediate steps to prevent blacks from exercising their votingrights. These included establishing poll taxes, literacy tests, prop-erty and registration requirements, and the “grandfather clause,” which allowed an individual to vote only if his grandfather couldvote as of January 1, 1866. (The poll tax would finally be out-lawed by the twenty-fourth amendment, adopted in 1964.) In

1875, Tennessee’s “ Jim Crow” laws legalized the segregation of public facilities. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Plessy vs. Ferguson, decreed “separate but equal” accommodations forAfrican Americans. And in 1918, the end of World War I launcheda renewed wave of violence against blacks when, as U.S. soldiers,they had experienced a respite from racism overseas and returnedto their homes and demanded their civil and human rights.Hundreds were lynched, some still in uniform. The violence cul-minated in the Red Summer of 1919, when race riots erupted in July in the District of Columbia, and twenty-five major Americancities.

The post-World War II years saw a continuation of the blackstruggle for equal rights, which held little hope. According to a re- port from the Southern Regional Council, in 1947, only 12 percent

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(around 600,000) of African Americans living in the South wereeligible to register to vote. In 1948, President Truman signed

Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the U.S. armed forces,but integration was not officially “completed” until six years later(October 1954).

In the following chronology, events in the novel are presented within the context of historical events (italicized) that had a criticalimpact on the lives of African Americans and their ongoing strugglefor civil and human rights. The frame of reference is provided by twomajor historical eras: the end of World War II (September 2, 1945)

and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement (December 5, 1955).Note: (1) Since Gaines does not cite specific days or dates, all timesare approximate; (2) Numbers in brackets [ ] indicate chapternumbers.

The events in the novel span approximately six months— fromOctober 1948 to April 1949 — the period between Jefferson’s trial andexecution. These six months correspond to the “grinding season” andto the academic school year at the plantation church/school.

1939-1945 World War II

1946 Joe Louis successfully defends his world heavyweight boxing championship for the twenty-third time.

1947 CORE (The Congress of Racial Equality) sends the first April Freedom Riders into the South to test the 1946 Supreme

Court ban on segregated interstate buses.

April 11 Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play professional baseball in the major leagues.

1948 A. Philip Randolph forms the League for Nonviolent June Disobedience Against Military Segregation.

July 26 President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the U.S. armed forces. Six years later

(October 1954), integration is officially “ completed.” Attempts by African Americans to vote stir a wave of vi-olence in the South.

October Friday. Jefferson’s trial. The all-white jury finds Jefferson guilty of robbery and first-degree murder.

Monday morning. The judge sentences Jefferson todeath by electrocution. [1]

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Monday afternoon. Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Grantgo to Henri Pichot’s mansion to ask about prison vis-

iting privileges for Grant.[3]Tuesday. Mr. Farrell Jarreau tells Grant that Pichot willmeet him at five o’clock. [5]

Tuesday evening. Grant is kept waiting in Pichot’skitchen for 2 1 ⁄ 2 hours. The sheriff tells Grant that hecan start visiting Jefferson in “a couple of weeks.” [6]

Thursday. Dr. Joseph Morgan, the white school super-

intendent, makes his annual visit to Grant’s school. [7]The following week. Two old men — Henry Lewis andAmos Thomas — deliver the first load of wood toGrant’s school, marking the beginning of winter. [8]

November Grant and Miss Emma make three trips to the county jail to visit Jefferson. [9]

Friday. Grant makes his first solo trip to the jail. On his

way home, Grant stops by the Rainbow Club, wherethe men are discussing Jackie Robinson. [10-12]

‘ Termination Sunday. Vivian meets the “church ladies.”After inquiring into her background, Tante Lou de-clares Vivian to be “a lady of quality,” signaling heracceptance into the community of women. [13-15]

December Monday. Miss Emma tells Grant about Jefferson’s rude

behavior during her last visit. Grant tries but fails toconvince her to discontinue the visits. [16]

Friday. Grant visits Jefferson, and Paul Bonin, the youngdeputy, suggests they call each other by name. [17]

Grant learns that Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Rev.Ambrose have asked Sheriff Guidry’s wife to see if they can visit Jefferson in a “more comfortable”

room. After ascertaining that Grant had nothing todo with their scheme, the sheriff lets Jeffersonchoose whether he wants to meet his visitors in hiscell or in the dayroom. [18]

Christmas Day. People from the quarter gather for theannual Christmas program. [19]

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1949 Grant and Rev. Ambrose are summoned to HenriPichot’s house, where Sheriff Guidry tells them that

the date has been set for Jefferson’s execution. [20-21] Friday. Grant visits Jefferson and they talk for the firsttime. Afterward, Grant stops by the Rainbow Club, where he borrows money to buy Jefferson a radio. [22]

Monday. Grant learns that Jefferson refused to meet hisvisitors in the dayroom because he was not allowed tobring his radio. Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Rev.

Ambrose accuse Grant of endangering Jefferson’s soulby giving him the radio. Grant tells them that Jeffersonneeds the radio to help him keep his mind off his impending death.

Wednesday. He convinces Jefferson to meet his visi-tors in the dayroom and promises to bring him anotebook and pencil. [23]

Grant talks to Jefferson about being a hero. Thatevening, Grant goes to the Rainbow Club and getsinto a fight with two mulatto bricklayers. [24-26]

Sunday. Rev. Ambrose confronts Grant about hislack of faith. The men debate religion, education,and the value of saving Grant’s soul versus savinghis pride. [27]

Grant persuades Jefferson to talk to Rev. Ambrose.

They discuss prayer and dying. [28]

April Jefferson records the final days of his life in his diary.Paul tells Grant about Jefferson’s death and presentshim with the diary. [29-31]

Jackie Robinson receives the National League’ s Most Valuable Player award.

Joe Louis retires as World Heavyweight boxing champion,after holding the title for a record 11 years and 8 months.

1954 The Supreme Court outlaws school segregation in Brown May 17 vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, overturning the

1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling that established “ sepa-rate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites.

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1955 The Montgomery Bus Boycott in response to Rosa Parks’ Dec. 5 arrest on Dec. 1 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus

launches the Civil Rights movement.

The movement has since made impressive gains with the adop-tion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965,and the 1990 Civil Rights Act, which addressed the most egregiousdiscriminatory practices. However, issues such as the lack of goodlegal counsel for impoverished African Americans charged withcrimes (resulting in a disproportionate number of African-American men in prisons and on death row) and inadequate repre-sentation of African Americans among the professional classesindicate the continuing need for attention to equal opportunity andcivil rights.

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ESSAY TOPICS

(1) Explore one of the following topics presented in the novel:

Redemption/TransformationBlacks and the Criminal Justice SystemThe Pre-Civil Rights SouthThe Myth of White SupremacyThe Concept of HeroismBonding Between Black MenThe Role of the Black ChurchThe Legacy of Slavery

The Role of Education in the SouthThe Role of TeachersThe Black Family and the Black CommunityRacismRacial Pride/Racial ConsciousnessThe Search for Black Male IdentityThe Concept of ManhoodThe Plantation System

(2) Discuss the significance of one of the following symbols:food as a celebration of lifethe plantation schoolthe white picket fence surrounding the plantation schoolthe statue of the Confederate soldier and the Confederate

flag outside the St. Raphael courthouse

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the Pledge of Allegiancethe dayroom

the radio Jefferson’s diaryHenri Pichot’s plantation

(3) Gaines has said that listening to the blues and jazz “has had asmuch of an impact on my writing as the works of other writ-ers.” Cite specific passages in the novel that demonstrate thisinfluence and discuss their impact on the story.

(4) Read James Joyce’s “Ivy Day in the Committee Room.” Whydo you think Gaines included a discussion of this short storyin his novel? What lessons does Grant learn from the story?From his professor?

(5) What role do Creoles play in the novel? What is Grant’s per-spective of them? Why?

(6) Some critics contend that Grant perpetuates the system of racism and exploitation. Write an essay to support or refutethis argument.

(7) Throughout the novel, characters learn various “lessons.”Discuss the lessons learned by one of the following characters:

Grant

JeffersonRev. AmbroseGrant’s studentsPaulSheriff Guidry

(8) Explore the role of language in the novel. Consider the use of Standard English versus black vernacular and regional dialect;body language; and the language of silence.

(9) Gaines has said “All my works deal with the black male at-tempting to exceed his limits.” Explore this theme in one of Gaines’ earlier novels or short stories.

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(10) Gaines’ work has been criticized for his use of “ passive” char-acters who don’t fight back against the injustices of their en-

vironment. Based on your reading of A Lesson Before Dying , write an essay to support or refute this theory.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

GAINES’ MAJOR WORKS

Novels

Catherine Carmier. 1964. New York: Vintage Books, 1992.Of Love and Dust. 1967. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. 1971. New York: Bantam

Books, 1972. In My Father ’ s House. 1978. New York: Vintage Books, 1992.

A Gathering of Old Men. 1983. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. A Lesson Before Dying. 1993. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Short Stories

Bloodline. 1968. New York: Vintage Books, 1997.

Children’s Book

A Long Day in November . New York: Random House, 1971.

CRITICAL WORKS ABOUT GAINES

BEAVERS, HERMAN. Wrestling Angels into Song. The Fictions of Ernest J. Gaines and James Alan McPherson. Philadelphia: Universityof Pennsylvania Press, 1995.

“Ernest Gaines.” African American Writers. Valerie Smith, et al.,eds. New York: Collier Books, 1993: 105-120.

“Ernest Gaines.” The Norton Anthology of African American

Literature. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Nellie McKay, eds. NewYork: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1997: 2180-2182.

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“Ernest Gaines.” The Essential Black Literature Guide. Roger M.Valade III, ed. New York: Visible Ink Press, 1996. [Published in

Association with the Schomburg Center for Research in BlackLiterature.]

ESTES, DAVID C., ed. Critical Reflections on the Fiction of Ernest J.Gaines. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, 1994.

FERRIS, WILLIAM. “I heard the voices ... of my Louisiana People: AConversation with Ernest Gaines.” Humanities. July/Aug. 1998:

5-7; 46-51.

GAUDET, MARCIA, and CARL WOOTEN. Porch Talk with Ernest Gaines:Conversations on the Writer ’ s Craft . Baton Rouge: LouisianaState University Press, 1990.

GLOVER, MICHAEL. “To Kill a Hog.” The Angolite. Sept/Oct 1993:38-39.

LOWE, JOHN, ed. Conversations with Ernest Gaines. Jackson, Miss:University Press of Mississippi, 1995.

WILSON, CHARLES E., JR. “Black Manhood in Ernest J. Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying .” Journal of African American Men. (Vol. 1.Issue 1) Summer 1995: 99-112.

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Documents

A Lesson Before Dying -Cliffs Notes (1999).pdf