61 pages • 2 hours read
Ernest J. GainesA Lesson Before Dying
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary
As the school day draws to a close, Grant sees Reverend Ambrose, Miss Emma, and his aunt return from visiting Jefferson. The kids finish up Christmas planning, and the boys find a tree for the girls to decorate. Grant dismisses the children, and one runs back to tell him that Miss Emma wants him to stop by on his way home. Reverend Ambrose is with Miss Emma. She accuses Grant of lying to her about the visit. Grant feigns confusion. Miss Emma says she hit Jefferson at the visit today. Grant later overhears his aunt telling Miss Eloise about the visit: Jefferson refused to look at them or talk with them. He stared blankly with no feeling. When he did speak, it was not him but rather just a “voice” saying he should have corn because he is a hog. Miss Emma slapped him for this and collapsed on him. Back at the house, she just cried and wondered what she did to deserve this. She tells Grant he must go back and see Jefferson because he is the teacher.
Chapter 17 Summary
Friday arrives, and Grant goes through the usual search entering the cell block and decides to try speaking with the deputy, whom he hears comes from “good stock.” The deputy, Paul Bonin, introduces himself, shakes Grant’s hand, and walks him through a typical day for Jefferson at the jail. Grant asks if he ever talks about the execution, and Paul says no. As Grant enters the cell block, one of the other prisoners calls him “Rockefeller” because he always leaves chicken and biscuits.
Grant tries to convince Jefferson to show more concern for Miss Emma because it is the least he can do for someone who has done so much for him. Jefferson is not convinced. He threatens to insult Vivian if Grant continues to “vex” him. Grant dares Jefferson to scream out for the sheriff but knows he won’t. Jefferson insults Vivian, and Grant almost loses control, but he realizes that Jefferson grins out of pain, not malice. Grant chastises Jefferson and tells him he knows he isn’t doing any good by visiting. Jefferson’s expression changes to sadness, and he declares that manners and food are “for the living” (106). Then he lays down on the bunk and faces the wall.
On the way out of the jail, the sheriff asks to see Grant, and he shares that Miss Emma and Tante Lou have requested the visits happen in a more “comfortable room” where everyone can sit down. The sheriff decides it will be up to Jefferson to choose to visit unshackled in his cell or shackled in the dayroom.
Chapter 18 Summary
Jefferson agrees to meet in the dayroom. Jefferson is indifferent and comments that he will “die anyhow” (111). On the next visit, Miss Emma formally sets the table in the dayroom with four place settings as she would do at home. Jefferson sits down in chains and refuses to eat any of the food, even when Miss Emma tries to spoon feed him.
When Grant goes for his next visit, he is taken to the dayroom to meet Jefferson as well. Jefferson still won’t eat, but he does speak a little. He tells Grant he wants to talk about the “chair,” but Grant talks about the Christmas program instead. Jefferson is surprised to hear it is Christmastime. He wonders aloud about Christmas being the time of Jesus’ birth or death. He then remembers that Easter is when Christ died “And he never said a mumbling word” (114). Grant tries to talk to Jefferson about how he owes his godmother some kindness, and to show her some respect that she can be proud of. Jefferson responds that is for humans and he is a hog. Grant tries to remind Jefferson that he is speaking and wearing clothes, which are exclusively human traits. Jefferson says he doesn’t care about anything.
Grant leaves and drives to the Rainbow Club to get a couple beers and then he heads over to pick up Vivian from her school. The two go back to the Rainbow Club, where Grant says his visits to Jefferson are pointless because nothing is changing. Vivian thinks something is changing.
Chapters 16-18 Analysis
These chapters continue the idea of strong women and struggling men. The women embrace opportunities to express their love and care through food, manners, dress, customs, and practices, whereas the men struggle to understand who they are apart from the racist attitudes of the white community and the high expectations of the women. Miss Emma confronts Grant over his lies about Jefferson liking her food and sending his regards. When Miss Emma goes to visit him, she ends up having to slap Jefferson because he won’t stop talking about himself as a hog. Miss Emma reminds Grant that he is the teacher, and he must keep trying. When Grant goes to visit Jefferson, he encounters a hateful and angry Jefferson who threatens to insult Vivian’s character if Grant does not leave him alone. Grant almost loses control, but he does not because he realizes Jefferson does not mean what he says, and the grin is a “mask.” Jefferson literally denies his own humanity and manhood when he refers to himself as a hog and as someone who is already dead. Grant also mentions that he does not perform well in bed on the days he visits Jefferson, suggesting that racism is literally stripping these men of their manhood. As the story progresses, the men struggle to figure out what it means to be a man in these conditions.
Jefferson compares himself to Jesus on the cross in these chapters. Jefferson knows and believes something about religion, though he is still trying to make sense of how it connects to him. He sees himself in Jesus’s crucifixion, and he will continue to contemplate Christ’s death as he comes closer to his own.
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By Ernest J. Gaines
