AAAAEver since the beginning of A Lesson Before Dying, we’ve been talking about how Grant isn’t an adult but really an overgrown adolescent. He’s snappy, lazy, and kind of self centered. The only thing that separates him from the kids he teaches is the fact that he holds the stick. However, as he talks to Jefferson more and more often, I’ve noticed a change in his behavior; he’s beginning to understand that change is possible in an unchanging world.
Up until this point, Grant has been a firm believer in the idea that everything is a cycle and nothing really matters. You can see this in the way he treats God. Yes, there is God but there isn’t a heaven. So, while God did create everything and is responsible for everyone’s lives, all that disappears after you die because there is no heaven and thus everything was for nothing. Using this reasoning, it would make sense for Grant to want to escape. If nothing good can be found here, then why not try somewhere else?
This is characteristic of the everyday teen; they just want to get away. Yet, it’s the fact that someone as young as Jefferson is able to adjust to a horrible situation in such mature way that finally opens Grant’s eyes. Yes, life isn’t great and things are still terrible for the African American community, but Jefferson is willing to stand tall and claim his humanity to prove that nothing can tear him down, not even the system. When Jefferson finally admits “Yes, I am youman”, Grant can clearly see the transformation in Jefferson.
In seeing this change, Grant’s goal to run away and escape seems so pathetic. Here is this boy, coming to terms with his death and embracing the role of a hero for his community. Grant, who previously thought this change would be impossible, is a firsthand witness to this transformation. I think by seeing this example, Grant can hopefully become the responsible and mature adult that his community and his students desperately need.
I think you're right to associate Grant's "adolescent" desire to run away from home with his deep-seated skepticism about the possibility for any meaningful change. This is another way that his education has become a "burden" for him--he's acutely aware of the "cycle," but also convinced that nothing he (or anyone else) can do will break it in any significant way. This structural racism (epitomized by the superintendent) keeps his teaching job from making any meaningful inroads into these students' lives, and he feels powerless to even try anything else. So there's a combination of youthful angst and a deeper kind of world-weary cynicism. Gaines ultimately depicts this cynicism as a kind of defense mechanism, an excuse to keep from even trying to do the hard work of effecting change.
ReplyDeleteThe "mission" with Jefferson would be typical of this dilemma: there's no apparent "point" to "making him a man," if he isn't going to live past April 8. The project is imbued with a sense of futility from the start. But that all changes once Grant starts to think in terms of what Jefferson's death might *mean* to everyone who still survives.
I agree with the ideas you have here. Grant seems to, at first, only see this from his point of view and keeps the same mentality he's always had. But Jefferson was able to show him and teach him from his transformation that there is a purpose. Grant guided Jefferson into something he didn't see the result of, but Jefferson took that and learned in his own way what that meant. He, whether he realizes it or not, has been capable of making this change in the community around him. And Grant has been a part of that also and does eventually see that it matters.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why Grant believed in God but not in heaven. He mentioned losing his faith during college, but he never really specified what that meant. I almost wonder if he started to believe in God more as the novel progressed.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how Grant was put to the task of changing Jefferson, yet they both end up changing each other. I don't think if Grant hadn't gone to meet Jefferson, then he would've changed. There was something about seeing a innocent person put on death row finally overcome it and stand tall, that just has to change you. Even though Grant hasn't made quite the transformation that Jefferson had, I do think that he's progressed.
ReplyDeleteThrough Jefferson and Grant's relationship, both of them seem to expand their world view. Grant used to have the idea that no matter what he did, he wouldn't make a difference, but when he sees the growth in Jefferson, he knows change is possible. Additionally, if Grant hadn't tried and been patient, Jefferson would have never opened up and thought he could die with grace and dignity.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to quickly play devil's advocate and iterate that Jefferson might have had the same desires to run away, but he really didn't have a say in what he could have actually done. Otherwise though, I do agree that Grant's supposed "run away from your problems" syndrome is a little bit much at times. And alas, it doesn't even seem like that much progress was made at the end of the book, since Grant still thinks about running away after Jefferson has been executed. This isn't to say that Grant hasn't changed at all, but old habits are hard to break I guess.
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