Heroes or Not: A Lesson Before

Heroes or Not: A Lesson Before Dying In Gaines’ novel A Lesson Before Dying, the reader is presented with a group of black people, dealing with racism, and struggling to help each other find peace. Throughout the book, the main character, Grant, has been assigned the duty of raising the self-esteem of a young man named Jefferson, who has been sentenced to death. It is the wish of Jefferson’s grandmother Emma that Jefferson should die …

… dealing with other topics such as racism, and unjust treatment, one is able to realize that it took strong individuals to deal with these types of obstacles during that time. Though at first it may seem that Jefferson is the only hero to speak of, when one delves a little deeper, it is easy to see that Grant and Miss Emma deserve the title also.