Looking Ernest Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying as following the Campbell's model of a hero's journey, I'm wondering who the real hero of the story is. At first, the obvious answer seems to be Grant, the narrator of the story. Many aspects of his journey follow the classic hero's journey in an unconventional, yet still accurate way. He quite clearly refuses the quest of helping Jefferson, and has to go through several trials to get to Jefferson's cell.
However, being very close to the end of the story now, I have found Jefferson to be a much more likely candidate for the hero of this story. His ultimate goal is to walk to the electric chair like a man, not saying a word; proof that he is more a man than any of those calling him a hog. He initially refuses this quest quite blatantly, but over time eventually accepts the quest, urged on by Grant. Grant I see more as "supernatural" aid: he has a college education, which is almost supernatural in his community, and he is the person who is mostly able to aid Jefferson in his mental quest. The unknown that he enters is one of deep reflection; he has to think about the world in a completely different way than he's used to. The radio, as well as the notebook and pencil, both are talismans, with the radio keeping his sanity while waiting in the cell, and the notebook allowing him to write down his thoughts. Everything fits together so well when matching the hero's journey to be a mental one with Jefferson.
The idea was brought up in class of there being two parallel hero's journeys with Grant and Jefferson, but I disagree. While Grant does match somewhat to the Campbell model, there are a lot of things that make more sense with Jefferson than with Grant. For one thing, I haven't noticed a real talisman for Grant, while Jefferson has at least two clear talismans. The main problem I have with calling Grant the hero, however, is the final ordeal. No matter who's journey it is, the final ordeal is Jefferson walking to that electric chair. I see Grant as a mentor figure because of this. Sure, Grant is doing what he can to make Jefferson a man before he dies, but it all ultimately comes down to how Jefferson walks to that chair - it is up to Jefferson. Grant is preparing Jefferson for this moment, supplying him with philosophical advice, requests, and objects to help him along the way. While Grant has his own journey to fulfill all of this, all of it comes down to Jefferson. Thus, I disagree with the idea of it being a parallel journey, though I do see the argument for it.
It's difficult to choose between Grant and Jefferson as the potential heroes because both of their journeys have so much to do with each other, and they're both playing different roles in the Hero's journey paradigm throughout the novel. I think Grant's journey is still kind of heroic though, even if he doesn't match up perfectly with Campbell's paradigm of a hero, because Grant seem to enter the unknown, gain new knowledge, and return with new ways to help the community with this knowledge, and those seem to be the main aspects of heroism.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a difficult topic that can be approached from different perspectives. I feel that both Grant and Jefferson are both having journeys. They're both on the same journey, learning how to cope with the rampant racism.
ReplyDeleteGranted, they are in different situations. Grant is essentially one of the most successful person in his community, considering the rampant racism going on. On the other hand, Jefferson is the opposite; he is about to get executed after getting called a hog by his own public defender. Therefore, their starting points are both different, but in the end, I think they both learn how to cope with the oppression and rise above the white people who always try to push them down.
Good post Nathan! I agree that Jefferson seems like the more obvious hero after having read the book. But, I still think that the idea of Grant and Jefferson experiencing parallel hero's journeys fits the book the best. I think that both Grant and Jefferson are heros and they are also both mentors to each other. Grant teaches Jefferson to be a man, while Jefferson teaches Grant to get off his college high horse and reconnect with his family.
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