..."A Lesson Before Dying" is a fantastic novel written by Ernest J. Gaines. Grant Wiggins, Jefferson, and Paul are three characters from the novel that benefited, embodied, and understood the most important lesson before dying. The most important lesson and message before dying was that each of us has been created by God with potential to be great, and to help others reach greatness. Grant Wiggins is a prime example of the most important lesson before dying. He attempted to teach Jefferson to be a man and not a "hog" as the public defender had called him during the trial. Jefferson's godmother "wants [Grant] to visit [Jefferson] and make him know-- prove to these white men-- that he's not a hog, that he's a man. (Gaines 31) Grant accepts the challenge firstly, to prove the white men that were betting against him wrong and show them that Jefferson can and will transform into a man for the sake of black people in the South. However, he also accepts the challenge in order for Jefferson to be someone he (Grant) in the future would look up to because he is the only person who has the power now to stand up to the white people in the South. Also, Grant Wiggins is trying to expose and introduce Jefferson's greatness by calling him a hero. Grant begins to explain to Jefferson the "'A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don’t and can't do. He is different from other men. He is above other men. No matter who those other men are, the hero...
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...A Lesson Before Dying Academic Conversation Directions- Prepare responses to the questions below. When we complete the novel, you will participate in the Academic Conversation by deploying these responses in a discussion about A Lesson Before Dying. 1. How are the following themes developed in the text: (cite textual evidence!) Racial Injustice(Monday, 4 Examples)pg 57, pg 49, 25, 79 1 - ¨There was a white movie theater uptown; a colored movie theater back of town for colored.¨(Gaines 25), This passage kicks off the mood the town has toward colored people and how they are treated throughout the story. 2 - ¨You're smart¨, Guidry said. ¨Maybe you're just a little too smart for your own good.¨(Gaines 49), This passage shows the developing message that colored men can't really be much and even though...
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...It is often said that a teacher learns more from their students. With his novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines embodies this idea beyond the classroom. The novel begins with the sentencing of Jefferson, a cognitively delayed young black man found in the wrong place at the wrong time. To alleviate the sentence, the attorney refers to Jefferson with a list of insults including a boy, a fool, and a hog. Due to the racist atmosphere, he still receives the full punishment of death by electrocution. His aunt, worried about his soul, commissions Grant Wiggins, a black educator, to meet with Jefferson before his execution. Grant faces the task of “making him a man”, which he deems as a hopeless attempt. Nevertheless, he uses his views as an intelligent black man in society to change Jefferson’s perspective and give him the strength to accept himself in his final days. Though the novel begins with Grant Wiggins’ attempt to build a man from a prisoner, A Lesson Before Dying becomes a story of his own self actualization and a transformation of his relationship with society. As soon as Grant is introduced to the situation by Ms. Emma, Jefferson’s aunt, he rejects the proposal and explodes with opposition. Grant views himself as an intellectual, with a higher perception of the community than most people. Because of this intuition and his personal experiences, Grant finds his role as...
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...In Ernest Gaines’ novel A Lesson Before Dying he uses third person point of view to tackle the issue of racial injustice in the South during the 1940s. The character, Jefferson, understands that justice is unfair and that it shouldn’t even be called justice so he actually starts acting like a “hog”. Later on, Jefferson successfully learns that he can’t give up, he has to die like a man, and even though it feels like there's nothing you can do, do not give up. That’s what he learned about justice showing the audience the significance of the novel as a whole, even if things are looking bad, never give up, Do you think Jefferson was badly or unfairly treated in the court of law? Jefferson feels that it is unfair and that they did not treat him with respect or justice at all. After believing that he was mistreated, Jefferson starts to act like an actual “hog”. In the quote “Why I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair.” This is an example of the injustice that was happening during Jefferson’s trial. His lawyer even tried to say...
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...experiences. But in Grant’s case, the slight change he maid had an impact on his life. This spoke to me because it shows that the events of our lives can truly change who we are. Another reason I like this book is that it realistically reflects how African-Americans are treated, especially in the 1940s. The reason Jefferson received the death penalty was because he was African-American. We still see injustices like this today, such as the Ferguson Case, Trayvon Martin, or Michael Brown. A Lesson Before Dying took place before the civil rights movement, but still after the civil rights movement, not much has changed. The book was written after the civil rights movement, so the author wrote a story about how characters change, but our society hasn’t much. After reading A Lesson Before Dying, I asked myself if there any hope for the black community in America. We do have a black president after all, yet it seems like there hasn’t been enough change in our society since the story took place. Even though we have come along way since 1940s, it does not seem like far enough. A Lesson Before Dying is one of my...
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...Figures of Speech Metaphor: A figure of speech that constructs an analogy between two things or ideas; the analogy is conveyed by the use of a metaphorical word in place of some other word. For example: "Her eyes were glistening jewels". Colonel Kurtz: "Are you an assassin?" Captain Willard: "I'm a soldier." Colonel Kurtz: "You're neither. You're an errand boy...sent by grocery clerks...to collect a bill." (From Apolcalypse Now) Trying to get banks to lend in this economic climate is impossible. It’s pushing a string Clichés are usually dead metaphors: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Love is blind. It takes two to tango. Misery loves company. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Too little, too late. Tip of the iceberg But clichés can be used as the basis for a witty jujitsu by taking the form and substituting other words: • • • • • Work is the curse of the drinking classes. You can bring a whore to culture (original: horticulture), but you can’t make her think. Bankruptcy is a fate worse than debt. One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing. The leisure of the theory class. Or as Heinrich suggests, by taking them literally when they are used by others: Opponent: The early bird catches the worm You: It can have it. Opponent: Let’s not pour the baby out with the bath water. You: No, let just pull the plug. Chiasmus: [kahy-az-muh s] A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.” •...
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...Socrates Philosopher Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, Wikipedia “Personal background” Born: 469 BC, Athens, Greece Died:399 BC, Athens, Greece Full name: Socrates Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Classical Greek Main interests: Epistemology, ethics Notable idea: SocraticMethod, Socratic irony Influenced: Most subsequent Western philosophy; more specifically, Plato, Aristotle, Aristippus, Antisthenes Spouse:Xanthippe Children:Menexenus, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus Aristotle Philosopher Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great “Personal background” Born: 384 BC Stagira, Chalcidice Died: 322 BC (aged 61 or 62) Euboea Nationality: Greek Era: Ancient philosophy Region: Western philosophy School: Peripatetic schoolAristotelianism Main interests: Physics, Metaphysics, Poetry, Theatre, Music, Rhetoric, Politics, Government, Ethics, Biology, and Zoology Notable ideas: Golden mean, Aristotelian logic, syllogism, hexis, homomorphism, Aristotle's theory of soul Plato Philosopher Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western...
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...Defying Order Proves Costly Who is God? The answer has been sought for millennia. If one thing is certain, it is that He is the most intelligent and powerful being in the universe. God is a designation used to represent the highest authority over everything. Although many people may not be religious or even believe in God, artists may use a supernatural being allegorically, perhaps God or the Devil, in their works to represent order. In Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding, a group of boys become stranded on a deserted paradise island after their plane is shot down out of the sky. On this island it would appear a higher power is controlling the order. They boys start out civil by creating a political democracy, and are as children without sin. Sin, like adulthood or corruption, then enters into the group and the group is destroyed. The political structure the boys establish when they first meet on the island is also destroyed in the process. The group descends into chaos, with Simon and Piggy as casualties. In the end, Jack, the primary exponent of sin, burns down the island while hunting Ralph, which allows for the boys’ rescue. Despite being rescued, it was clear the boys were changed forever. Likewise, in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), the country of Scotland is portrayed to be organized under the order of a higher being; a king. When Macbeth, a highly regarded thane, is tempted by a prophecy of being king, he acts on his temptation. Macbeth then becomes king...
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...PHIL 127: History of Ancient Philosophy Socrates and His Mission When is a Question Philosophical? Philosophical questions have answers. (A question that has no answer is not a question; it just masquerades as one.) But a question is philosophical for a particular culture at a particular time when no means of answering it are available – or, none of the prevailing methods have any authority. A problem is a philosophical problem when the way to go about answering the question is in question. An issue is a philosophical issue when the right way to settle the issue is at issue. A Philosophical Crisis If the claims in the previous paragraph are true, then 5th century Greece was in a philosophical crisis. It was a crisis in morality. In our culture we think of morality as being concerned with rules. Here are some rules – You should not kill. – You should not steal. – Don’t hit people. – Lying is wrong. – It’s wrong to promise to do something and then not do it. – You should not covet your neighbors wife, or his ox or his ass or his male or female slave, or anything that is your neighbor’s. – You should not lie with a man as with a woman. – Thou should not wear fabric woven of wool one way and linen the other. – Do (imperative) unto others as you would have them do unto you. – Help (imperative) other people who are in need when you can do so at no great risk or cost to yourself. Why do we think of morality as consisting of rules? This question is important...
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...Sold to joezayed7@gmail.com THE SUNFLOWER SIMON WIESENTHAL THE SUNFLOWER SUPERSUMMARY 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PLOT OVERVIEW 3 CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND ANALYSES 5 Chapter 1 Chapters 2-5 Chapters 6-10 Chapters 11-15 Chapters 16-20 Chapters 21-25 Chapters 26-30 Chapters 31-35 Chapters 36-40 Chapters 41-45 Chapters 46-50 Chapters 51-54 5 8 12 15 20 23 26 29 33 36 39 42 MAJOR CHARACTER ANALYSIS 45 Simon Karl Josek Arthur Adam Bolek Karl’s Mother 45 45 46 46 47 47 47 THEMES 49 SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS 51 COPYRIGHT 2016 THE SUNFLOWER SUPERSUMMARY 2 IMPORTANT QUOTES 53 ESSAY TOPICS 61 COPYRIGHT 2016 THE SUNFLOWER SUPERSUMMARY 3 PLOT OVERVIEW The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal is a book of non-fiction. The first section, also titled “The Sunflower,” is an account of Wiesenthal’s experience as a concentration camp prisoner under the Nazi regime. In the account, Wiesenthal describes his life in Poland prior to the German occupation, his experiences of anti-Semitism within the Polish culture, and his life as a concentration camp prisoner. He describes life in the concentration camp, the continuous humiliations, the hunger, the illness, and the constant threat of death. Central to the narrative in “The Sunflower” is the story of Simon being summoned to the deathbed of a young Nazi soldier whom Simon calls Karl and who has been wounded in combat. Karl confesses to...
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...How to bring down a dictator By Abebe Gellaw | May 29, 2012 Editor's Note - The following paper by Abebe Gellaw was first published in March 2011. Given its timelessness, the paper is being published for the second time. “Freedom is not free; you have to pay for it.” Anonymous In May 2005, over 2 million Ethiopians came out in full force to demand change Imagine the power all these people wield collectively when they decide to act together for radical change, dignity and freedom Nonviolent struggle is a smart option for Ethiopians to end tyranny As ordinary Egyptians have erupted in jubilant euphoria at Tahrir Square and on the streets of Egypt after the fall of the three-decade long dictator Hosni Mubarak, Ethiopians in and outside of the country have been keenly watching the wind of change from North Africa. We have witnessed history unfolding once again. When people are determined to be free, nothing can stop them. After an epic struggle against him, Mubarak had no choice but to surrender. The world is a better place with the fall of one more dictator. What a beautiful moment to celebrate and watch! The momentous events in Egypt and Tunisia are testimony to the power of nonviolent struggle. When people are united and speak in one voice, nothing can stop them. No guns and tanks have stopped the peaceful revolutions that have ended tyranny and ushered in liberation to ordinary people in many countries across the world. Ethiopians also know what revolutions are like. But...
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...INTRODUCTION "Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad. The effects of karma (actions) are inevitable, and in previous lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives. Just as someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will eventually be caught and punished, so we too must face the consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the past, there is no way to be at ease; those actions are irreversible; we must eventually undergo their effects." His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from 'Kindness, Clarity and Insight' The Sanskrit word Karma (or kamma in Pali) literally means action. In Buddhism however, karma mainly refers to one'sintention or motivation while doing an action. The Buddha said: “It is volition that I call karma; for having willed, one acts by body, speech, and mind.” AN 3:415, from In the Buddha’s Words, p. 146. (In the west, the word karma is often used for the results of karma; the Sanskrit words for the effects or results of karma are 'vipaka' or 'phala'. ) The shortest explanation of karma that I know is: 'you get what you give'. In other words; whatever you do intentionally to others, a similar thing will happen to yourself in the future. Causing suffering to others will cause suffering to ourselves, causing happiness to others will result in happiness for oneself. Perhaps our biggest to understanding or even believing in karma may be time. The 're-actions' or results of our actions...
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...Past setting (time) · Early 1950s setting (place) · Little Rock, Arkansas protagonist · Melba Patillo major conflicts · The attempt made by Melba and eight other African-American students to integrate into Little Rock High School rising action · The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. the Board of Education that separate schools are not equal; Melba volunteers to go to the all-white Central High School; Melba and eight other African-American students enter Central High. climax · Ernie becomes the first black student to graduate from Central High School. falling action · Unable to return for a second year at Central High School, Melba moves to California and lives with a white family; she becomes a journalist and reports on injustices around the world. themes · The shifting of power through resistance, the prominence of race relations motifs · Self-reliance, the loss of innocence symbols · Central High School, Melba’s Easter dress, journalism foreshadowing · After Melba’s grandmother rescues her from the all-white bathroom and sneaks her past the police, they drive away from Central High School. Melba wonders what it is like to go to school there. This foreshadows her...
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...Recommended Citation Gifford, Elizabeth Joy, "The Experience of African American Hospice Patient/Family with Board Certified Music Therapy as a Component of their Plan of Care" (2009). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects. Paper 14. This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at USF Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact zjlu@usfca.edu. COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2 Section I: Introduction Statement of the Problem Although 60% of African Americans in the United States have stated that they would want hospice care when they are dying (AARP, 2003), they only comprise 8% of all hospice enrollees (NHPCO, 2007), despite the fact that they represent 13% of the total population in this country (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). In fact, hospice care in this nation has always been underutilized by African Americans (Connor, Elwert, Spence, & Christakis, 2008). In the San Francisco Bay Area, among Medicare-certified hospice agencies that submit data to the State of California, only 2% of all the hospice enrollees in 2007 were African American (OSHPD, 2008). In the Oakland Bay Area, African Americans represent 36% of the general population, yet only 15% of the patients of Pathways Hospice, which serves the Oakland population...
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...Frédéric Bastiat The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 The Translation This translation of The Law was done by Dean Russell of The Foundation staff. His objective was an accurate rendering of Mr. Bastiat's words and ideas into twentieth century, idiomatic English. A nineteenth century translation of The Law, made in 1853 in England by an unidentified contemporary of Mr. Bastiat, was of much value as a check against this translation. In addition, Dean Russell had his work reviewed by Bertrand de Jouvenel, the noted French economist, historian, and author who is also thoroughly familiar with the English language. While Mr. de Jouvenel offered many valuable corrections and suggestions, it should be clearly understood that Dr. Russell bears full responsibility for the translation. The Law The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! If this is true, it is a serious fact, and moral duty requires me to call the attention of my fellowcitizens to it. Life Is a Gift from God We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is life — physical, intellectual, and moral life. But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted...
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