Grant: as clueless as me
So far I’ve really enjoyed A Lesson Before Dying. I thought I wouldn’t be able to relate to it at all, but in a way I do. Though Grant is a college graduate, he seems to be as uncertain about what his role is in this world is. Granted (see what I did there), he is dealing with a long cycle of injustice, while I’m just a teenager trying to figure out what I want to major in.
Grant has a desire to make a change, he studies and works hard to get an education so he can help others do the same and end the cycle of being considered inferior. Yet he feels hopeless. When he goes to Henri Pichot’s home to request visitation, he is still referred to as a “boy”. When he tries to ask for new materials for his students, he is essentially told to deal with it. Finally, when he receives wood from his former classmates he feels as though his work is futile. There is a cycle that he alone couldn’t break.
Then he recalls his own teacher saying, “What do I know about life? I stayed here. You have to go away to know about life. There’s no life here. There’s nothing but ignorance here. You want to know about life? Well, it’s too late. Forget it. Just go on and be the n**** you were born to be, but forget about life” (Gaines 65). He is already told that his work and life was pointless in the big picture, so if he couldn’t teach young kids so they could grow up and break the cycle of poverty and racism, what is the point of teaching a young adult how to be a man when he has an expiration date? I don’t think Grant knows yet, and I definitely do not, though morally I can understand.
I think the reason Grant is so upset is because he worked so long and hard to escape the cycle of racism and poverty, but is still stuck in it despite his best efforts. Maybe his relationship with Jefferson will show that what he does, while it may not have a huge impact, will help some kids grow and do more than they thought they could. Maybe he actually is doing something by emphasizing the importance of education, so that even if these kids don’t pursue an education after he is done teaching them, they will relay it to their kids who may grow up and pursue a higher education. Then the more educated, black individuals there are in the workforce, the harder it will be to keep them from jobs. Thus ending the cycle of racism and poverty.
But I digress. In short, I think Grant is still finding himself and discovering the value of his role. Sometimes it is difficult to see the difference you’re making when your goals are so lofty. Hopefully, Jefferson and Grant will both help each other understand their roles and the good they put into the world. I’m excited to see what this narrative reveals about their relationship.
Works Cited
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.
I think especially in this last reading, we can really see progress from when Grant first met with Jefferson. Grant also has this huge long rant about that exact cycle he is stuck in, which I found interesting to hear, and made me understand him a bit more. Though we've talked about how Grant is sort of like a teenager in his actions, I think his interpretation of that cycle and why the people around him want him to do certain things shows a profound and mature realization on his part.
ReplyDeleteI was also impressed by Grant's statement that it's on Jefferson now. When he first started out on this"journey," his worry was largely 'what can I possibly do to help.' Now, hes begun to truly realize the (pretty) obvious: their progress and the meaning of all this rests on what Jefferson can and will do, not just Grant.
ReplyDeleteYou have an interesting perspective in your post! I never thought I could relate to any of the characters in the this book but now I can. Also Grant started the novel being forced to help Jefferson by his aunt, now he willingly defends and helps him.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit upon an interesting point. Grant feels that, no matter what he does, it doesn't have any kind of meaningful impact. He teaches as he thinks best, but it is all too clear to him that he is not having the impact he wants to have. But when his pupils think back and remember Jefferson composure just before his death, perhaps they will be inspired to emulate him. What could Jefferson have been if he had comported himself always as he did just before he died? Maybe a bunch of students emulating him will tell us.
ReplyDeleteYou make an important point about the collaborative nature of teaching and learning more generally, which I think is reflected in the novel in many ways. Teaching isn't this one-way street, as Grant seems to think in his classroom practice (the child tries to write in a straight line on the board, Grant corrects the child and shows what's "wrong" with what she did). With Jefferson, he has no lesson plan--all the usual stuff he teaches is useless to Jefferson now. Instead we see a *relationship* develop, where Jefferson is "taught" that he's still part of the community as a whole not through Grant *telling* him so ("You're not a hog, Jefferson") but through what increasingly becomes a two-way communication. Grant *shows* that Jefferson is part of the community through his own way of engaging him, and the notebook is a crucial part of this process, as are the visits to the jail by the schoolchildren and the community members.
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