In Chapters 5-8, Ernest Gaines reveals the main conflict of A Lesson Before Dying lies within Grant Wiggins himself. Likewise, Gaines illustrates the racism that plagues Grant. Which two parts/scenes/events from Chapters 5-8 best convey the internal conflict within Grant and the racism he faces? Explain how so. (The deadline to post a repsonse to this blog is midnight June 19, 2011.)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Summer Blog # 2: "Just do the best you can. But it won't matter."
In Chapters 5-8, Ernest Gaines reveals the main conflict of A Lesson Before Dying lies within Grant Wiggins himself. Likewise, Gaines illustrates the racism that plagues Grant. Which two parts/scenes/events from Chapters 5-8 best convey the internal conflict within Grant and the racism he faces? Explain how so. (The deadline to post a repsonse to this blog is midnight June 19, 2011.)
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In chapter 5, Wiggins is very cruel to his students. He is easily frustrated and extremely impatient. This reveals his inner struggle with life. He is stuck in a town full of poverty and is desperate for more. The racism he faces is best shown in Chapter 6. It is revealed through Grant's entrance through the back door and his refusal to dine at Mr. Pichot's kitchen table. Grant is forced to wait two and a half hours before being noticed. Through this, he realizes how much he is looked down upon. On page 47 Grant also reveals how the racism affects him internally. "Whether i should act like the teacher that I was, or like the [African-American] that i was supposed to be...To show too much intelligence would have been an insult to them. To show a lack of intelligence would have been a greater insult to me."
Grant Wiggins is plagued by racism in Ch. 6 and 8. In Ch. 6 Grant was shown rascism by Sam Guidry, the sheriff, and Louis Rougon, an associate of Henri Pichot's. All the men in the room, as Grant and Sam Guidry were discussing visitation to Jefferson, expected Grant to answer their questions with incorrect grammar, and with witless comments. Louis Rougon especially was looking down on Grant because of the color of his skin. In Ch. 8 the schools old teacher states why he dislikes Grant. He dislikes Grant because Grant is more darker skinned than he himself is. For example the teacher says, "... I am superior to you. I am superior to any man blacker than me."
In chapter 5, Grant Wiggins reveals how he has done the same routine with his students for almost six years. This makes Grant impatient with his students and shows how he wants to get out of this town. The fact that Grant wants to leave but cannot is his inner struggle with life. Grant's racism he faces is best shown when he goes to visit Henri Pichot in chapter 6. For instance, Grant had to wait in the kitchen for two and a half hours before Henri Pichot would see him. Grant also faces racism in chapter 7 when the superintendent comes to visit his school. Grant states that the superintendent visits the white schools twice a year, but he only visits the black school once a year. This shows that Grant has to put up with poor education materials as a part of racism.
In chapter 6, Gaines reveals the racism that Grant struggles with because he has to wait two hours before Mr. Pichot even sees him. This shows how Grant is treated badly because of his color. In chapter 7, the superintendent visits Grant's school and treats the little children like "animals" by checking their hygiene. Another scene involving racism was when Grant told the superintendent about how they get the white children's used books. This shows how the colored people are treated badly even in their eduacation.
Poor Mr. "Higgins". Internally, he is ripped apart and the majority of whites around show outward racism towards him. Point one was at the time in which the superintendent came to check the school. Grant was forced to drill his students in preparation for Dr. Joseph's visit ,and he even secretly thinks how ridiculous the whole ordeal is and it is quite obvious he had no desire to do it. He is forced to show unnatural obedience, almost to the point of a master-slave relationship, to Dr. Joseph. Further on, he reaches the house of Mr. Pichot. He is, naturally, hungry but he refuses to eat at the table; he does not wish to satisfy the older white men. Whenever the men finally come to talk to him, he must display a certain amount of intelligence in order to not embarrass them or himself and they speak down to him and secretly see where he stands on matters that have already been decided.
When Wiggins' reflects on the teacher he had in the school it reveals the inner conflict of his want for change and his inability to get it. In chapter 6, when Wiggins goes to Henri Pichot's house, Wiggins used the proper term "doesn't" instead of "don't" which the four white men expected him to say. Also in this scene, at the end of page 49, the sheriff says "I'd rather see a contented hog go to that chair than an aggravated hog.", which shows how Wiggins deals with listening to racist comments about other people in the community.
Wiggins's internal conflict is best exemplified by the encounter in chapter 6 where Wiggins has to struggle to act more like the stereotypical African American of the time and less like the equal, or superior, that he knows himself to be. Then, he confronts racism when he tries to ask the superintendant for new supplies. The man's reply is that all the schools are treated the same, an obvious lie, and to put the children to work to buy their supplies for school and hygiene.
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