FREE ESSAY ON A LESSON BEFORE DYING

A LESSON BEFORE DYING

The lady that appears after the first 100 pages of the book turns out to be Vivian,
Grant's secret lover. Grant and Vivian take a walk and after their walk they visit
Grant's aunt, aunt Emma. Aunt Emma and her friends are very fond of Vivian and they give
her many compliments. Aunt Emma, and the reverend go to visit Jefferson and they find
that Grant's previous account of Jefferson's recovery was lie; Jefferson still eats and
behaves like a "hog". Aunt Emma and the reverend confront Grant regarding his faulty
account of Jefferson's recovery. Once again, Grant visits Jefferson and tries to convince
him that he is not a hog and he is a man. After a couple more visits from the ladies and
Grant, the chapter ends off with the whole town watching a Christmas play on the birth of
Jesus. After the play, Grant is tired of watching the same play and seeing the same
people dressed in the same kinds of clothing year after year.
The hermeneutic view means the dominant interpretation to a text. In "A Lesson Before
Dying," they end off the chapter with a Christmas play about the birth of Jesus. This is
significant because Christmas to Christian's is a symbol of birth. This could mean that
there might be new hope for Jefferson. This is because Jefferson is currently on death
row. Christmas does not symbolize death, but symbolizes birth. This could mean that
Jefferson could get a new chance in life or at least will not be executed in the near
future. Another important point is that everyone knew that this play is dedicated to
Jefferson/. This could mean that the whole community is praying for Jefferson. The
reverend started to pray and asked God to watch over everyone including the ones in jail
who were innocent or guilty. At the end of this, Grant says, "Vivian said things were
changing. But where were they changing?" This is an important quote because Vivian might
be implying that racism is beginning to stop, but Grant cannot see these changes. He only
sees racism as a part of life.
According to the political view, there is a hierarchical structure underneath the
construction of race. When Grant has a talk with his teacher, his teacher said, "I am
superior to you. I am superior to any man blacker than me." His teacher is possibly
implying that lighter skin color is racially superior in society. Grant's teacher is of a
lighter skin color (being Creole) therefore, his teacher is also reinforcing his own
racial superiority over Grant. Another point is when he calls Grant a nigger. "He'll make
you the nigger you were born to be." I think that the usage of "he'll" is referring to
"the white society" and how whites have the power to produce labels such as "nigger".
This negative label has the power of determining and limiting the fate of a black person
because; everyone will begin to treat blacks differently after associating them with
being "niggers". If society believes in the negative label of "nigger" it will decrease a
black person's opportunity to receive education, employment, etc., therefore perpetuating
their lack of status within society.
Grant's teacher also said that to survive in a white man's world, you basically have to
adapt in their culture and do everything a white man does. Grant's response is "My only
choice is to run, then?" This means that the only thing to do is to runaway from
society's label. However, Grant's teacher predicts that Grant "won't run", he says this
because, he realizes that it is easier to assimilate into the "white" culture rather
trying to rebel.