In A Lesson before Dying by Earnest Gaines, Jefferson is falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to death because of the color of his skin. Grant Wiggins is a teacher who is responsible for making Jefferson a man again after he is called a hog and convinces himself that he is worthless. Each of the poems describes either a person or their relationship with someone despite that fact that neither the poems nor the book had any correlation when being written. Since the authors of the poem went through similar life experiences compared to the characters in A Lesson before Dying, their stories are very alike. Further analyzation of the book is able to be made by comparing it to a poem. In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, the relationship between …show more content…
Almost everyone viewed his possibility of success as obsolete because of the race discrimination. Nevertheless, he went to university and became a teacher with the everlasting support of Tante Lou. Now later in life Grant began to lose hope that anyone will ever treat him equally. Langston Hughes reveals a similar situation when he states, “So boy, don’t you turn back “(13). Tante Lou attempts to stop Grant from straying off the path and giving up completely. Hughes also states, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (2). Tante Lou lived a hard life, therefore we were she was even harder on Grant to do his best. Additionally, Grant is giving up on the idea that the children he teaches can succeed in the world. __ always told him that it was pointless for anyone to try. Gaines reveals his opinion when he states, “” (Gaines). Grant believes that his students don’t appreciate the learning opportunities they have been given. Hughes reveals Grant’s situation when he states, “Don’t you set down on the steps ‘Cause you find it kinder hard”(14-15). Grant continues in the dark with no hope for the children's future. Even though Tante Lou is constantly urging Grant to stay positive he is slowly losing the vision of
In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American man named Jefferson is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and, as the only survivor, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, the defense attorney had called him an uneducated hog as an effort to have him released, but the jury ignored this and sentenced him to death by electrocution anyways. Appalled by this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, asks the sheriff if visitations by her and the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, would be possible to help Jefferson become a man before he dies. The sheriff agrees, and Miss Emma and Mr. Wiggins begin visiting Jefferson in his jail cell. Throughout the book, Jefferson has two seemingly opposite choices in front of him; become a man, and make his godmother and other relatives proud by dying with dignity, or, remain in the state of a hog with the mentality that nothing matters because he will die regardless of his actions. The choices Jefferson is faced with, and the choice he makes, highlights the book’s idea of having dignity ...
The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all “Life ain’t been no crystal stair!”(Norton, Line 2, 2028)
In Gaines' A Lesson before Dying, Grant Wiggins, a black male school teacher, struggles with the decision whether he should stay in his hometown or go to another state while his aunt, Tante Lou, and Miss Emma persuades him and gives him the responsibility to teach Miss Emma’s wrongly convicted godson to have pride and dignity before he dies. The wrongly convicted man, Jefferson, lost all sense of pride when he was degraded and called a "hog" as he was sentenced to death and announced guilty for the murder of the three white men at the bar he so happened to be in. Through Grant’s visits to Jefferson’s cell, the two create a bond between each other and an understanding of the simplicity of standing for yourself or others. In Gaines’ novel, Grant, Jefferson, and everyone around them go through injustice, prejudice, and race.
The author of “Mother to Son”, Langston Hughes, displays the attitude of hopefulness in the poem to show that life will not be easy for the son, but he should never give up because the mother did not. The author uses literary devices like figurative language, imagery, and diction. By using these literary devices, Hughes creates a sympathetic mood in the poem in order to emotionally draw in the reader.
In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, By Ernest Gaines, the main character, Grant Wiggins gives a man meaning in his last days alive. Wiggins gives him a book to write his thoughts in, and helps him to realize that he is not a “hog.” He shows him that he is truly a good person, and that he should die with his head up, knowing that he led a worthy and honest life. Mr. Wiggins changed greatly through the story, from a cold school teacher to an open hearted and caring man. This helped his relationship with others as well as Jefferson. Through his changing, he became the one man that Jefferson could trust.
Another example of Hughes’s constant struggles with racism and his inner and thoughtful response to that is clearly seen when he recalls being denied the right to sit at the same table. His point of view identifies that he was not able to sit at the table because he was an African-American. Yet, he remains very optimistic in not letting his misfortune please what is considered the “white-man” in the poem. Langston Hughes’s states,
His poems established him as a well known poet in Harlem. In two of his poems one titled “Mother to Son” and the other “Harlem” both have some comparison and contrast between the two. The poem “Mother to Son” is more of a free lyric flowing poem. In this poem Langston Hughes gets the message across in a powerful attack. The poem is narrated from a mother’s viewpoint and the wisdom she gives her son as read in the following lines:
In Francis Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "The Slave Mother, A Tale of Ohio," she uses a shifting tone as well as other specific literary techniques to convey the heartbreaking story of a slave woman being separated from her child. This story specifically draws light to the horrific reality that many slaves faced: families were torn apart. Because this poem tells the story of a mother and her son, it also draws light to the love that mothers have for their children and the despair that they would go through if anything were to ever happen to them. Harper's poem addresses both race and gender, and it effectively conveys the heartbreak of the mother to the audience.
When Mat 's wife had tried to stop him from going to the Marshall plantation, he had told her that nothing she did was going to stop him from going. It was no more a matter of how old he was anymore; it was a matter of standing up against racism. It was only if he stood up, someone else will stand up and so he had to do something action-wise to show that he was not going to die a coward (Gaines 38). Charlie also depicts himself as a real man in that he faced his fears. Gaines amusingly describes the scenario where Charlie said no matter where he ran to, he still found himself on the Marshall plantation to show that his conscience was not at rest; he had to come out clean. He had to beat his crippled mentality and stand where he ought to. Likewise, Blacks even after all discrimination come out stronger. They surmount criticism, discrimination and prejudice and get the work done. In Lou 's chapter, Lou made mention of this, “...I want the world to know it. I ain 't Big Charlie, nigger boy, no more, I 'm a man... A man come back. Not no nigger boy. A nigger boy run and run and run. But a man come back. I 'm a man” (Gaines 187 ).
One of the most important of the influential people in Langston Hughes’ life was his grandmother. The ability to persevere through hardships and trials were her teachings. Lessons also learned were those of strength and determination. The proof of this is evident in a few of his literary works where a mother figure encourages and teaches her child, or student, life lessons on
Grant hates the racist, white-dominated society in which he resides, but he disconnects from the black community and threatens to leave his hometown to escape from the vicious cycle of black men struggling among a white population. However, Grant’s love for his family and friends keep him from leaving when his girlfriend, Vivian, says, “You love them more than you hate this place” (Gaines 94). Although Grant cannot bear living in Louisiana any longer, he is similar to Jefferson in that he would lose purpose in his life without a family that cares about him. If Grant follows the cycle of black men abandoning their family to pursue other interests, it would be ironic because he decries the actions of the black men that came before him. Instead, Grant wants to reverse the cycle by remaining in his hometown to teach the black children in his school to live life as humans with equal status. Grant hopes that he will achieve freedom by helping his students discover their freedom, which is similar to Jackie Robinson inspiring black men around the country by breaking the color barrier. Grant’s belief in the future of his society is akin to that of Jackie Robinson when he says, “I believe in the human race. I believe in the warm heart. I believe in man’s integrity” (Robinson). As Mr. Robinson lists his beliefs, he shows hope for
"They sentence you to death because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no proof that you had anything at all to do with the crime other than being there when it happened. Yet six months later they come and unlock your cage and tell you, We, us, white folks all, have decided it’s time for you to die, because this is the convenient date and time" (158). Ernest J. Gaines shows the internal conflicts going through the mind of Mr. Wiggins in his novel A Lesson Before Dying (1933). Mr. Wiggins is struggling through life and can’t find his way until he is called upon against his own will to help an innocent man, Jefferson. The help is not that of freeing him at all. Jefferson will get the death penalty no matter what. It is that of making him a man. When Jefferson’s defender tried to get him off the death penalty he called Jefferson a stupid hog, not even a boy. Mr. Wiggins wants to leave the town and everyone in it except for Vivian, his girlfriend, behind, but he can’t or won’t. Everything is hanging in the balance of what happens to Jefferson. Mr. Wiggins is characterized through a series of changes with the help of one man, Jefferson, throughout A Lesson Before Dying mainly shown in spoken quotes.
Through the use of personification, Langston Hughes shows that learning is important is this story, the professor just teaches but langston is also teaching the professor that different races are equally important and that we are all the same. People in this time period were rude to black people back then then and they treated them like they were different, but Langston is trying to teach his professor that everyone is the same and know one deserves to be treated badly just from the color of their skin.”You are white--yet a part of me,as I am part of you. That's American”.This quote is langston saying that we are all the same and we are all american and nothing else is different. As a conclusion hughes was making a good point in the fact of
The comparison between two poems are best analyzed through the form and meaning of the pieces. “Mother to Son” and “Harlem (A Dream Deferred)” both written by the profound poet Langston Hughes, depicts many similarities and differences between the poems. Between these two poems the reader can identify his flow of writing through analyzing the form and meaning of each line.
Langston Hughes “The ballad of a landlord” had an ironic twist when the speaker ended up in jail. The landlord thought that the man was lawfully wrong because he “threaten the government.” The landlord didn’t fix the speakers house because of the color of his skin. This poem can be useful today because of the racial tension that is happening today. Many African American face problem with social injustices every day just because the color of their skin isn’t like everybody else’s. The community gets profiles as soon as they enter the room. Langston Hughes poem is one that brings the audience along to inform them that the African American community is still dealing with a problem with something as simple as living in an