A Lesson Before Dying

“She knew, as we all knew, what the outcome would be. A white man had been killed during a robbery, and though two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die.” 

In referring to Miss Emma, godmother of the accused, Grant Wiggins, the narrator and protagonist, captures the inevitability of young Jefferson’s situation. Historical and social circumstances make the verdict a foregone conclusion, despite the facts. Because of 300 years of racial oppression, a young Black man will not find justice in the justice system in 1947 Louisiana. Instead, he will experience what, according to Grant, everyone already knows: that one’s individual actions and motivations cannot be separated out from the vicious cause-and-effect cycle of racism.

“A cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa—yes, yes, that he can do—but to plan? To plan, gentlemen of the jury? No, gentlemen, this skull here holds no plans.”

The stereotypes raised and used by Jefferson’s attorney in his defense only reinforce the racism of the all-white jury. Jefferson’s attorney argues that he is more an animal than a man, and this is inherent in his genetic make-up, making his character something pre-determined and biological rather than something “individual.” If the jury is to find Jefferson innocent, they must do so because they do not find him to be a human. Humanity and how it is practiced across racial, gender, and generational lines is a significant theme in the story.