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Essay on Lessons Before Dying
“Lesson Before Dying” is a novel by
Ernest J Gaines; it’s about the ways in which people insist on declaring the
value of their lives in a time and place in which those lives count for
nothing. It is about the ways in which the imprisoned may find freedom even
in the moment of their death. It’s a story on Jefferson and how he became
something of a Christ figure.
Jefferson, sincere, sensitive, young black man of below-average
intelligence. Sentenced to death in the electric chair, was actually
innocent of the murder, but he was found guilty of drinking whiskey at the
scene and stealing money from the cash register. His actions were justified
by their being an attempt to satisfy his basic physiological needs. His
defense claimed, "Jefferson was merely an innocent bystander. He took the
whiskey to calm his nerves, not to celebrate. He took the money out of
hunger.
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After hearing his lawyer insist that Jefferson is only a "hog", he
considered himself powerless in the white-dominated society. He became
angry and sullen, and receded into himself. He accepted a sort of living
death, and therefore became a symbol, albeit negative, for his repressed
and struggling people. Grant (a supporting character in the novel)
attempted to raise Jefferson from his depression. He believed that
Jefferson could grow into a symbol of change for the black community.
With its consistent references to Jesus Christ and his crucifixion, this
novel hammered home the point that a man's death can, in fact, be a
meaningful event, as an affirmation of an honorable and just life.
Jefferson led a short and silent life. He was a common laborer since a
very young age, and in all that time he never spoke a word out of turn.
Being convicted for a crime he did not commit became, oddly, a
liberating experience for him.
By the end of the novel, Jefferson understood precisely why he must die like
a man. He knew that through this simple act of dignity, he would defy the
society that wrongfully accused and convicted him, not just of murder, but
also of being black-skinned. He knew that by refusing to bow-down in his
final moments, he would lift his entire race from the ground. For these
reasons, he walked to his execution proudly. Only one man, Jefferson
nevertheless died with the force and the fury of an army
Jefferson clearly became something of a
Christ figure. Unjustly tried and convicted, the simple-minded Jefferson
grew to the stature of a martyr by the end of the novel. The mayor attempted
to dispel some of this imagery by setting the date of the execution for two
weeks after Easter, but his awareness of the imagery simply reinforced its
power. In trying to move Jefferson to die with dignity, the cynical Grant
actually repented in front of Jefferson, saying that he felt "lost" but that
should Jefferson show him the way, he would find salvation, if not as a
Christian then simply as a caring and active member of his community. In one
of his conversations with another of the characters in the novel, Grant
admitted that only Jefferson could save him, essentially noting that
Jefferson was the chosen one.
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