A Lesson Before Dying

Akelia Williams

Cobbs

English 102-105

October 7, 2016

A Lesson Before Dying

In A Lesson Before Dying, there are a few problems that Jefferson and Grant have to deal with such as racism, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, recognizing injustice and the inescapable past. Both men deal with at least one of these problems during the story. Racism and injustice are probably the biggest problems that Jefferson and Grant have to deal with.

When the story begins, Jefferson was walking down the street when two boys that he knew stopped and asked him if he wanted a ride. The two boys’ names were Brother and Bear. After he got into the car, they stopped by a corner store and tried to get some wine on credit because they did not have any money. The store clerk, a white man, told them no. One thing led to another and everyone, except Jefferson, died. The book reads, “He looked from one dead body to the other. He didn’t know whether he should call someone on the telephone or run. . . He was standing by the liquor shelf, and suddenly he realized he needed a drink and needed it badly. He snatched a bottle off the shelf, wrung off the cap, and turned up the bottle, all in one continuous motion (Gaines 6).” Later, Jefferson got arrested and was charged with the murder of a white man. Even though Jefferson had told the police he did not commit the crime, who would believe him? He was the only one left alive in the story when the police arrived at the scene.

Grant was a young, black parish school teacher and he was a very educated man. Grant’s god mother Tante Lou and Miss Emma called Grant downstairs to have a talk with him. He sat down at the table and Miss Emma told him that she wanted him to go talk to Jefferson in the jail and make him a man. Grant, not knowing how he would do that, agreed to do it for Miss Emma’s sake. The drove to Henri Pichot’s house to have a talk with him. Mr. Pichot was a white man that Miss Emma and Tante Lou used to work for. When they arrived at Mr. Pichot’s house, he had company and it took him a while to come into the kitchen where Grant, Miss Emma, and Tante Lou were. When he finally called into the kitchen, Miss Emma asked him if Grant could go down to the jail and talk to Jefferson to make him a man. The book read, “He looked over her head at me, standing by back by the door. I was too educated for Henri Pichot; he had no use for me at all anymore. But just as Miss Emma had given so much of herself to that family, so had my aunt. So Henri Pichot, who cared nothing in the world for me, tolerated me because of my aunt (Gaines 21)”. Henri Pichot did not cared whether Grant got to talk to Jefferson or not. All he really cared about was having his drink with his company.