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A Lesson Before Dying Theme Essay

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A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells a story about a school teacher in the south during the 1950’s and a man who has been wrongly convicted of murder. The main conflict in A Lesson Before Dying is between the school teacher Grant Wiggins and Jefferson, a convicted murder. The main conflict in this story has been resolved because Grant has succeeded in having Jefferson regain his pride and feel like a man, and not a hog going to the execution chair. This resolution relates to the emerging theme of how an internal sense of pride is important in life, by showing how Jefferson’s mental journey of being wrongly accused and convicted is healed by relearning his sense of worth. When Jefferson is writing in his journal to Grant he says, …show more content…

When Jefferson was at trial his lawyers' defense was that Jefferson was a mindless hog with no capability of even thinking of committing a crime of that nature. Jefferson took those words to heart and when he was first sentenced and put in jail Jefferson was intent on making the people who visited feel bad for him, he wanted them to feel guilty. He would lash out and say cruel things or he would be passive and act like he doesn't care, making it difficult for Grant to achieve his goal of helping Jefferson. As time went on and the reality of Jefferson's situation set in, Grant had the opportunity to understand Jefferson more and eventually help him out of the mindset his situation put him in. When Jefferson is writing in his journal to Grant he says, “when they brot me in the room an i seen nannan at the table i seen how ole she look an how tied she look an i tol i love her an i tol her i was strong” (231). Jefferson is saying how he reassured Miss Emma. This is drastically different from Jefferson's attitude towards his nannan in the beginning of the story. His interaction with his nannan is kind and compassionate compared to how he was passive and uninterested before. This shows Grant's effect on Jefferson's mindset and how he's developed emotionally throughout the

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