In A Lesson Before Dying, female characters play minor roles; however, they reveal much strength, determination, and motivation. Select a scene in which one of the female characters revealed her strength, purpose, and courage. Discuss how the scene contributes to the novel and explain why you felt this was a powerful scene. (The deadline to post a comment to this question is midnight July 27th.)
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A Woman's Strength
In A Lesson Before Dying, female characters play minor roles; however, they reveal much strength, determination, and motivation. Select a scene in which one of the female characters revealed her strength, purpose, and courage. Discuss how the scene contributes to the novel and explain why you felt this was a powerful scene. (The deadline to post a comment to this question is midnight July 27th.)
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2 comments:
A scene in which the female characters showed tremendous strength, purpose, and courage was when Miss Emma and Tante Lou ventured to Henri Pichot's house to ask for permission to see Jefferson in jail. It must have been hard for them to ask a favor from a white man for whom they had previously worked. Miss Emma and Tante Lous showed great purpose, strength, and courage by doing because, no matter how hard, they knew they had to if they wanted to see Jefferson ever again. This was a powerful scene in the book because it showed how much Jefferson was really cared for. Everybody wanted the best for him, even in his dreadful situation.
Abby Rich
7/23/10
In chapter three of the novel when Jefferson is first convicted, Miss Emma makes a visit to Mr. Henri Pichot's house where she had previously worked. She told him, "They called my boy a hog, Mr. Henri," Miss Emma said. "I didn't raise no hog, and I don't want no hog to go set in that chair. I want a man to go set in the chair, Mr. Henri." She came to ask Mr. Henri to speak to the sheriff for him to allow Grant to visit him occasionally. After realizing Mr. Henri's lack of interest, Miss Emma says, "I'll be up here tomorrow, Mr. Henri. I'll be on my knees next time you see me, Mr. Henri." This scene displays strength by going to a previous workplace where she was mistreated, determination by saying she'll come back the next day, and motivation by wanting a man to die in the chair and not a hog. Because of Miss Emma's actions in this scene, Grant eventually receives permission to visit Jefferson, which entails most of the plot line, thus making this scene very important. For a black woman to approach a white man reveals that this is a very powerful scene in the novel. (Quotes from pages 20 and 23, respectively)
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