In Gaines’ novel A Lesson Before Dying, the reader is presented with a group of black people, dealing with racism, and struggling to help each other find peace. Throughout the book, the main character, Grant, has been assigned the duty of raising the self-esteem of a young man named Jefferson, who has been sentenced to death. It is the wish of Jefferson’s grandmother Emma that Jefferson should die as a man. In the end, Grant does succeed in helping Jefferson feel like a man, and some will consider him a hero for doing this. After reflecting on the story, and looking at Grant’s own definition of a hero, it becomes apparent that this novel is full of heroes.

In the book, Grant describes a hero in this manner:

A hero is someone who does something for other people.

He does something that other men don’t and can’t do.

He is different from other men. He is above other men.

No matter who those other men are, the hero, no matter

who he is, is above them (A Lesson Before Dying 193).

Grant gave this definition of a hero to Jefferson, while trying to make Jefferson feel like more of a man. Jefferson, a young black man with little education, has been sentenced to death for

I don’t know what you’re going to say when you go back in

good by mr wigin im gon ax paul if he can bring you this

Jefferson wants it to be known that he is a man, and not a hog like so many of the whites in the town perceived him. By doing this, he sets an example for the blacks of the quarter. He makes a statement that says “No matter what they say about us, we always have the chance to prove them wrong, no matter how much better they may think they are.” It took a special man to make that statement, and Jefferson was the only one able to do it. The best way to express the courage shown by Jefferson on the day of his execution is described by Paul, the deputy at the jail:

Some topics in this essay:
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