In the Lesson Befor Dying Utilizing the term Hog
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In the Lesson before Dying Grant the narrator of the novel actually received a lesson in masculinity and community worth at the conclusion of the novel. My focus will trail the era of Grant's experience of racism and the will and hope to acknowledge, deal with and finally overcome those racism up and til the end of the novel. The opening chapter paints Grant, the narrator, as a proud black man who suffers because he lives in a racist time and place. Gaines suggests Grant might be deceiving himself, since he distances himself from Jefferson's trial and yet claims to know exactly what happened there. Although Grant says he did not attend Jefferson's trial because he knew what the verdict would be, I would think Grant also stayed away because he willfully imposes a distance between himself and his family and community. Grant says he could have sat with his aunt and Jefferson's godmother, but he chose to separate himself from them. The term hog is used in a cruel manner by Jefferson's attorney in attempting to reduce is sentence. He said, "Gentlemen of the jury, be merciful. For God's sake, be merciful. He is innocent of all charges brought against him...