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Hero in a Lesson Before Dying

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Hero in a Lesson Before Dying
English 162

ALBD Q #1

Grant, Hero of A Lesson Before Dying

How we act or react in difficult situations defines our persona. Sometimes these situations provide opportunities to be a hero. After reading Grant Wiggins’s own definition of a hero, it is apparent that Grant becomes a hero. Grant states, “A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don’t and cant to. He is different from other men. He is above other men. No matter who those other men are, the hero, no matter who he is, is above them.” Grant becomes a hero by earning an education to become a teacher, undergoing psychological changes, and counseling Jefferson to die with dignity.

A hero is different from others and does something others cannot. Grant’s drive to defy stereo type, become a teacher, and contribute to the community demonstrates that he is a hero. Grant is an African American son of cane-cutters who worked on a Louisiana plantation. He grew up working a labor job and was expected by society to continue as a laborer. Through determination he was able to escape his surroundings to earn a college education. He returns as an educated university man hoping to make a positive impact on society, but is still looked down upon. College gave him a new perspective and educated way of speaking and thinking, but he was still not equal to the whites. Grant continued to persevere through segregation and unfair treatment. He maintained his goal of making a difference by teaching in a church without desks or other supplies. Grants ability to escape his environment and stereotyping, earn an education, and return to his community to make changes, makes him different from others in his community. Grant was different from others and taught in conditions that most could not. Grant is a hero.

Grant proved himself a hero, not only by overcoming struggles with racism, but with overcoming struggles within his own mind. A

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