A Lesson Before Dying
I propose that A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines should be included in the English curriculum at Christopher Dock High School. It explicates the details of a small Cajun community near Bayonne, Louisiana where much racism exists. I believe that a student would grow morally if they learned about discrimination, which existed only sixty years ago in this country. The majority of students who attend Christopher Dock have never been victimized because of their skin color. I firmly advocate students learning about things that they have never experienced because it would help them gain awareness of the types of problems there are in society. Learning about racial intolerance would aid in shaping their character and would prepare them to go into the world with a conscious, dev
As stated earlier, the story expresses what it was like to be a "colored" person in the South in the 1940s. As they progress closer to the execution, Grant discovers the 'lesson before dying'. This is one issue that the story involves. They convince him to request that the local Sheriff, Sam Guidry, allow Grant to "teach" Jefferson. It would teach them mutual respect and consideration for fellow human beings. Grant Wiggins is a teacher who has returned from the university to open his own school. There are also a few others including dignity, loyalty, and human will. Finding the "man" in Jefferson located a spiritual inner place in both of them. But the cold-hearted Grant is skeptical of the usefulness of teaching and is beginning to share his former teacher's views: know your place as a colored man in the South and RUN! Nonetheless, Grant teaches Jefferson and gradually gets through to him. As he waits on death row, his aunt, Miss Emma, wants Grant to visit Jefferson and teach him that he is a "man". He was called a "hog" by the defense attorney and he has lost all self-worth. Grant is forced to accompany the two old ladies to the home of Henri Pichot, the plantation manager. In A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson, a black youth, has been falsely accused of murder and is sentenced to death. I think that students would benefit from these morals.
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Acceptance Essays
