n and view of blacks vs. whites in the novel. " To show too much intelligence
             would have been an insult to them." (47) The respect of race varied in the book, but at the end
             Jefferson's character prevailed. The author summons the reader to confront the entire bitter
             history of black people in the South and America as a whole. The theme of race ties into the novel
             when the characters begin to declare the value of their lives in a time and place in which those
             lives seemingly count for nothing. Jefferson's relationship to the theme in the novel only occurs
             when Jefferson provides hope for the African American culture. " A hero does for others. He
             would do anything for people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better." "You
             could give something to her, to me, to those children in the quarter"(191). Jefferson has
             something the other prisoners don't have (knowledge) , which separates him from others. He has
             the strength and ability of a wiseman.
             Key Dialogue and Action: I feel that an epiphany was reached by Jefferson when Grant
             was talking to him at the prison. "He looked at me in great pain. He may not have understood, but
             something was touched, something deep down in him because he was still crying..."(193) Here
             Jefferson shows his affection for the first time in the novel, his crying indicates life in him. The life
             is between Grant and Jefferson. Water represents life, and the life that Jefferson has created with
             ...