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This is a place for us to discuss openly and honestly the literature we are reading. Here we are all just communicating our thoughts on what we are reading. There are no right and wrong answers. However, you are expected to be polite, mature, and on topic.
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Throughout both of the novels, authors Mark Twain and Ernest Gaines leave different values for the readers to learn about. In Huck Finn, Mark Twain teaches that even though you may be taught to believe one thing, but that it is not always right. Huck must learn the value of true friendship and choose not to turn Jim in even though he is a runaway slave. In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines teaches the value of stepping up as a true man through Grant. Even though Grant is supposed to be teaching Jefferson how to be a man, it is really Grant that learns how to be one. Grant was never really emotionally there for his girlfriend Vivian as well as trying to avoid difficulties like when he was asked to teach Jefferson. By the end of the novel is it clear that Grant as learned values that bettered him as a person and more importantly as a man. Both of these values taught by Mark Twain and Ernest Gaines leave a mark on the novel because they are both novels about personal growth. Huck and Grant both mature as characters by learning these important values.
In the books by Mark Twain and Ernest Gaines, the characters Huck Finn and Grant learn many values as they grow throughout the novel. One of the main values Huck learns is the value of friendship. Huck learns friendship from different characters throughout the book. His main friend is Jim who helps Huck to grow. Huck meets other friends like Mary Jane and Buck along the way as well. He also learns the value of choosing right from wrong. Throughout the entire book we can see Huck learn that humans are cruel and almost never do the right thing, but Huck learns to do the right thing for himself. Huck also learns the value of every human life. Even though Jim is colored, Huck quickly learns that he is one of the few good people in the world that will take care of him,even though Jim is believed to be below Huck. Another person who learns the value of every life is Grant in A Lesson Before Dying. Grant learns that even though a person is called a "hog" he still deserves a chance to feel like a man. Grant does not think it at first, but he soon learns that everyone should feel like a person. Grant also learns the value of being a person himself. At first, he was just a teacher and did not really understand himself. However, throughout the novel, Grant learns the value of himself with the help of Jefferson, Vivian, and a few others. Mark Twain and Ernest Gaines left many values throughout the novels that touch many characters and all of these values are important.
I believe that throughout Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain was showing the value of friendship and doing what one personally believes is right. Jim and Huck become friends and protect each other throughout their journey. Also, Huck saves Jim numerous times even though society would not agree with what he does. In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines shows the value of being a man. Grant teaches Jefferson to be a man and hold the cross for the whole town, but Grant also learns to be a man. He learns that faith may be important and to look out for his fellow people.
Through the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain shows the value of friendship. This value is usually expressed through Huck and Jim. Even though Jim is a slave and Huck is told not to befriend him, he eventually does. He struggles with this decision, but finally realizes that Jim is a great man and he would rather go to hell than turn Jim in. Huck realize that friendship is a great thing and can happen between anyone. Through A Lesson Before Dying, Earnest Gaines shows the value of finding one's self. Grant finds himself through Jefferson. Although Grant did not want to teach Jefferson in the begining, he actually benefited from it. By teaching Jefferson how to be a man, Grant realized that he hasn't been living his life how he would like to and decides to change for the better.
One of the main values that Mark Twain teaches through Huckleberry Finn is the importance of a person valuing his or her own opinion. Throughout the novel, people try to tell Huck that black people are nothing more than property and that living an elegant lifestyle and making a trip to church is all that a person needs to do to live a perfect life. Huck continuously disregards others' influences and protects Jim from being caught for as long as he can. He also looks past the gilded lifestyle of the Grangerfords and decides for himself that they are flawed individuals who reluctantly go to church. He, unlike the Grangerfords, knows that "you can't pray a lie." A person has to live life and form opinions themselves. Otherwise, he or she is just a puppet to society.
In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines shows the value of self-worth and how it can completely change a person. In the beginning of this book, Jefferson sees himself as more of an ignorant hog than a human being who is capable of having a thought process. With the constant worry of his imminent death, he decides that there is no point in being a civilized man if it will not change anything. Over time, Grant's visits change Jefferson. He sees that so many people care for him, but more importantly, he sees that he is not some animal, contrary to the belief of the white judge, jury, and defendant. In the end, when Jefferson finally has to take his final walk, he is cleaned and shaved. He proves to the people in the execution room that he is not a hog, not just by being more courageous than any of them, but because he knows that he is a man. Others can call you anything that they please, but you will only be what you make yourself.
Authors Ernest Gaines and Mark Twain both display many values throughout the two novels we read. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain strongly displays the value of friendship. He shows that you can make friends with anyone, even someone you least expect. It also shows how strong friendship can be when sincere from both sides. Twain also demonstrates lessons of growing into maturity. During the book Huck Finn is twelve which Twain uses signifying youth and immaturity. Huck gathers many important opinions regarding life and learns a significant amount throughout the novel. At the end of the book Huck turns thirteen, which is the beginning of adolescents. This shift into adolescents is partnered with a growth of maturity in Huck.
In a Lesson Before Dying, Gaines takes the main character and puts him in a difficult position he doesn't want to be in. Grant, the main character, is selected by his aunt to help make Jefferson believe he is a man, not a pig as he was called during his trial. Throughout the book you are presented with example after example of Grant attempting to make Jefferson a man before death. In the end, Grant was successful in this attempt, however, the more important lesson was thought to Grant himself. Grant was a childish figure throughout the book, he wanted to not help Jefferson and runaway. However, by the end of the novel, ironically, he was the person taught to be a man. He reaches a sense of maturity in the book as he continues to visit Jefferson in the jail.
I believe that the values that Mark Twain and Ernest Gaines left in their books are of kindness or to treat others with respect. In both books you see both authors present an instant were a person is treated badly due to something he cannot change however, the character usually ends up proving the people wrong who judged them by being kind or doing something unexpected. They do this to show the reader that they should be more open to people.
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