Martyrdom is essential to a changing society in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Ernest Gaines revolutionizes race relations within societal rules with the use of martyrdom throughout this novel by making certain characters experience difficult situations. Big Laura, Ned, Jimmy, and Tee-Bob all play a substantial role in allowing martyrdom to gradually shape society.
Big Laura was one of the first martyrs that Gaines introduces in this novel. When she was leading the freed slaves to Ohio in search of an improved life, she hid from the incoming soldiers who were sent to kill any escaped slaves. Before she was beaten to death, she put up a fight and did not let the soldiers leave unscathed. This inspired Ned and Jane to continue …show more content…
Jimmy engages himself in civil disobedience by reason of “things must rumble before they move” (242). Jane pushes Jimmy towards the idea that “people and time bring forth leaders” (241). This accentuates the perception that people will one day become exhausted with the belief that whites are superior to blacks. The cultural ideas will never change unless people take action and break down the barriers between the races. “The people and time brought King; King didn’t bring the people. What Miss Rosa Parks did, everybody wanted to do. They just needed one person to do it first because they all couldn’t at the same time; then they needed King to show them what to do next” (241). This is exactly what Jimmy with his people did by protesting, riding the busses, and drinking from the strictly white water fountain. Jimmy set the example for the people to follow. Ultimately Jimmy dies for his people, making him an acclaimed example of a martyr. When he was shot, Jane claimed, “Just a little piece of him is dead...the rest of him is waiting for us in Bayonne” (259). Jimmy’s death caused a chain reaction, like Ned’s, to prepare the people to continue to fight for their own rights. These people know that they could die from their actions towards civil rights, but they also know that it must be done to improve society