A Lesson before Dying: What Makes an Educated Man? Essay

A Lesson before Dying is a memorable novel, set in Bayone, lanthanum in the 1940s, about an un educate, illiterate b wish man, Jefferson, who is falsely accused of murder and displaceenced to death. While on trial, his defense attorney likened him to a hog, calling him nothing more than a fool and a cornered animal. Jeffersons godm early(a) wants him to become a man before he dies. She persuades two men, make Wiggins and man of the cloth Ambrose, to visit with Jefferson and indoctrinate him what it means to be a man.While both men desire the same outcome, they disagree about what it means to be an amend man. Grant be compriseves that his college point in time gives him all the make outledge he needs. However, empyreal Ambrose believes that being educated goes deeper that reading, writing, and arithmetic. Grant Wiggins, the son of plantation workers, returns to his hometown after attending college with an attitude that his education somehow sets him aside the other black men living in his community. He becomes a plantation teacher, completing the cycle of returning to his roots.While he is outraged with how other blacks are treated, he does not use his education to help the cause. Instead, he becomes angry and bitter. He does not believe he can help Jefferson and he does not want to get involved What do I say to him? Do I know what a man is? Do I know how a man is hypothetic to die? Im still trying to find out how a man should live. Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived? (Gaines 31) Reverend Ambrose is a black preacher, determined to preach the gospel and lead people to salvation and an afterlife with Christ.Reverend Ambrose wants the blacks in his community to live peacefully with the whites and to rise up from the ashes of slavery. He is kind and compassionate and lives a humble life. While he is not educated like Grant, he is very wise to the realities of life. He believes that his knowledge of people makes him more educated than Grant. Reverend Ambrose believes that Grant looks down on him, because he is uneducated. He is determined to put Grant in his place by calling him boy and telling him what he thinks of him, When you act educated, Ill call you Grant.Ill as yet call you Mr. Grant, when you act like a man. (Gaines 216) Reverend Ambrose is angry that Grant does not really see what Tante Lou has done for him. He is frustrated that with all of Grants education he still does not understand his people Cause reading, writing, and rithmetic is not enough. You think thats all they sent you to school for? They sent you to school to relieve inconvenience, to relieve hurtand if you have to lie to do it, then you lie. You lie and you lie and you lieYou tell them that cause they have pain too, and you dont want to add yoursand you lie. (Gaines 218) Reverend Ambrose understands why Tante Lou made sacrifices to send Grant to college. She wanted Grant to return home and make a difference for his people. It m akes Reverend Ambrose angry that someone as educated as Grant cannot really see how people really feel. Reverend Ambrose believes that it is better to lie in order to prevent others from hurting. He wants Grant to reassure Jefferson of the existence of Heaven.He wanted Grant to lie and say he believed in divinity fudge and Heaven I wont let you sent that boys soul to hell. He did not want Grant to acknowledge to Jefferson his lack of faith in God. He wants a dying man to have the hope of an afterlife that was better than his life here. Reverend Ambrose could not understand how an educated man would take away the hope of a man that set to be executed. While it would be easy to argue that Reverend Ambrose not as educated as Grant, one cannot overlook the fact that his worldly knowledge goes far deeper than Grants.He understands the depths of peoples souls, and knows how to comfort and led them to knowledge and truth. Grant, on the other hand, is naive about others feelings. His educ ation lacks real life knowledge, as well as the ability to interact with people. Reverend Ambrose sees where Grant is lacking and believes that until he opens his eyes and heart to those around him, he will never truly be educated. Works Cited Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson before Dying. modern York First Vintage Contemporaries, 1994. Print.