A Lesson Before Dying

Grant has an epiphany about “representation” and heroism when he hears the old-timers at the Rainbow Club talking about baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Grant also recalls how they talked about the boxer, Joe Louis. Grant connects their hero-worship of these figures to the Irish peoples’ love of writer, James Joyce, whom Grant studied in college. He realizes that Robinson and Louis are icons for the Black community because they are examples of men who became great despite their social conditions. This elevates them to “hero” status. The community celebrates their successes as their own, and they mourn the failures as their own as well. Grant wonders if Jefferson will call out to Jackie Robinson on his way to the electric chair. Grant’s cynicism can sometimes disguise the connections he is making about what makes a hero, why heroes are important, and who needs heroes. In his comment about Jefferson calling out to Robinson, Grant is acknowledging that maybe Jefferson needs a hero to help him through this. This becomes significant later in the story when Grant realizes that the people of the quarter need Jefferson to be that hero, and that any Black man facing an unjust death at the hands of white men and can still find his humanity will be heroic.

The theme of religion is also explored in these chapters. The Christian church has a historically significant role in the Black community, and its origins are tied to slavery. For Grant, this is just another example of Black people colluding with a racist institution. As a man who looks to exercise greater agency and autonomy in his life, Grant thinks the Black church represents another white trap, a generational gap, and a false promise. Grant typically stays home on Sundays while the rest of the quarter goes to church. Vivian tells Grant’s aunt that she is a churchgoer who intends to keep attending church even if she marries Grant. When Grant fails to return promptly after his first solo visit to Jefferson, he is confronted by Reverend Ambrose, who wants Grant’s opinion on Jefferson’s soul. When Grant replies that he knows nothing about such things, Reverend Ambrose and his aunt are deeply concerned and question Grant’s moral authority in Jefferson’s situation.

Gaines further develops the theme of race and racism in these chapters. In addition to Grant questioning the authenticity of the Black church because of its ties to slavery, Vivian also emerges as a victim of racist attitudes towards her former husband and children. Vivian, who is light-skinned and comes from a light-skinned family, was shunned by her own family because she married a dark-skinned man and had two children with him. Her family has never been interested in meeting her children. Grant’s aunt asks her directly if “her people” like dark-skinned people. This suggests that “colorism” and internalized racism pervade the Black community and shape people’s relationships significantly.

Vivian is a college-educated woman who demonstrates strength in standing up to her family and being a successful single parent and full-time teacher. In these chapters, Grant has confrontations with the two strongest women in his life: his aunt and Vivian. His need to be in control and exercise dominance over them in the domestic environment suggests a mis-directed attempt at manhood. He insists on making the coffee because his aunt wants to make it, and he wants to assert himself in front of her friends. Grant then turns around and orders Vivian to get the cups and plates. Grant wants to be in charge, but only in superficial ways. He does not yet demonstrate an understanding of what it means to be a man around such strong women. Notions of manhood is another theme that will develop as the story continues.