In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, the main character Grant does not leave his small town because he is afraid to leave. Grant is afraid of failure and change. The character Grant is stubborn and self-centered. He does not face his problems as he metaphorically runs away from his problems. Even though Grant metaphorically runs away, he is afraid to leave because he has so much to lose, showing his fear of failure. In town Grant is a school teacher, he is afraid to leave because he is afraid of losing his power as a teacher. He is afraid he would fail as a teacher for himself and fail as a teacher for his students. Also, Grant is afraid of change because right now Grant has it good. He’s worked hard to get to where he is …show more content…
Grant is afraid of his power as a teacher and disappointing and letting down his students. Grant even listens to orders of others because he’s afraid and because he knows his powers as a teacher is limited. In Chapter 2, page 13 it illustrates how Grant follows and doesn’t go out of line, “‘Yes, I’m the teacher,’ I said. ‘And I teach what the white folks tell me to teach- reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.” This quote shows that; Grant follows what the white folks tell him to teach because he’s afraid of failure. Compared to the white teachers, they get to give their class more and they get to freely do as they want with their class, their kids are more educated. Meanwhile, Grant’s limited power as a teacher means a lot to him, as this is almost one of the most stable things he has. He has an advantage over the other black men in his town because he is one of the few black men to get an education. Even though Grant ha more power, he is afraid of failing his kids. In chapter 5 of page 40 it states, “I know that Jefferson was her cousin, but I didn’t apologize for what I had said nor did I show sympathy for her crying” This quote shows that Grant tries to show his students how the real world is. He doesn’t want to fail his students and let them end up like Jefferson. He doesn’t want to fail his students by making them unaware of the real world. In brief, Grant is afraid to leave because he is afraid to of …show more content…
Grant constantly let others, mainly white men who have more power over him bring him down. He would lower himself even though he shouldn’t have to because he’s afraid. In chapter 6, page 47 it states, “I tried to decide just how I should respond to them, Weather I should act like the teacher that I was or like the nigger that I was supposed to be . . . To show too much intelligence would be an insult to them.” This quote illustrates how Grant constantly devalues himself and thinks before he speaks because he is afraid to change his relationship with the white men. He knows that they have more power over him, and they can do more than he can. Grant is afraid if he says or does something wrong, everything he’s worked for will change, he’s worked so hard be at least a little respected by the white men. Since he is black and they are white, they have more power over him. From his experience as a black man and witnessing Jefferson’s case, Grant knows everything he has can just disintegrate and everything will change. This also shows Grant metaphorically running away from his problems, as he tries to compromise and make the white men in power superior, so nothing would change. Grant doesn’t try to make things better for himself by standing up for himself, instead he lets things stay the same. Therefore, this shows that Grant is afraid to leave because he is afraid of change and possibly losing