In A Lesson Before Dying, religion becomes a huge issue as the plot develops, as Miss Emma and Reverend Ambrose are desperately trying to save Jefferson's soul as much as they want him to become a man. Grant and Rev. Ambrose are supposed to work together to help Jefferson in both a spiritual and worldly sense. However, Grant seems to feel some sense of competition with Reverend Ambrose. He recognizes that his goal of making Jefferson a man and Rev. Ambrose's goal of saving Jefferson's soul are often at odds. This bitterness between Grant and Rev. Ambrose is exacerbated by the fact that Grant is hardly religious and wants nothing to do with religion, which is a point of contention between Grant and Ms. Emma, Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose.
However, I started to see some irony in this sort of rivalry between Grant and Rev. Ambrose, as I realized that there are some really strong parallels between what Grant is asking Jefferson to do and Jesus. This became glaringly obvious to me in chapter 28, when Grant and Jefferson are discussing religion. The most striking moment to me was:
"'Who make people kill people, Mr. Wiggins?'
'They killed His Son, Jefferson.'
'And He never said a mumbling word.'
'That's what they say.'
'That's how I want to go Mr. Wiggins. Not a mumbling word (p. 223).'"
Neither Jefferson (as far as we know) nor Jesus were criminals, but they were both put to death anyway. Jesus's life could have seemed futile, just like Jefferson's, as they both knew that they were going to be killed. Jesus went to his death without any protests, letting people's ridiculing comments roll off his back, which also exemplifies Grant's description of a hero in the day room ("(a hero) is above other men (...) He would do anything for people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better (p. 191)"). He even asks God to forgive the people killing him, because they don't know what they are doing. The idea that "they don't know what they are doing" reminds me a bit of the myth, or, in Grant's words, "an old lie that people believe in," that he describes to Jefferson in the day room about how white people believe that they are better than black people.
What's really interesting to me, though is how Jefferson looks up to and wants to be like Jesus the man, not Jesus the spiritual figure. Jesus's story is just as much about heaven as it is about earth, and to Christians, Jesus is God and human, but Jefferson and Grant only seem to be concerned with Jesus as a human at the moment. Grant and Jefferson are not even sure if they believe in heaven, though Grant believes in God. We find out pretty early on in the book that Miss Emma wants Reverend Ambrose and Grant to work together, which Grant seems to think is not going to work, but as the plot has developed, it seems to me that Grant and Rev. Ambrose's tasks are not as mutually exclusive as they seem.
it seems like Grant resents the idea of religion more than he resents ideas the religious people worship. Whenever people ask Grant if he believes in God, he answers really ambiguously, so it doesn't seem like he has strong feelings about believing or not. But he does make a point to not go to church even though it would make his aunt feel better if he did. I think Grant's rebellion against religion has a lot to do with how he rebels against the community in other ways. He sees religion as another way to go along with the power structure because by kneeling down and praying for the afterlife, it's almost like saying this life is a lost cause and there's no use trying to change it.
ReplyDeleteThe parallel between Jefferson and Jesus is so interesting. I hadn't thought about the part of the passion where Jesus asks God to forgive the people who kill him because they don't know what they're doing but now that you mention it, its almost impossible not to relate it to the ignorance and racist fear leading the white authorities of Bayonne to hang an innocent man. As you said, Jesus supposedly ascends both physically and spiritually after the crucifixion. I think its a strange twist that, in the end, Grant seems more invested in Jefferson's personal journey (which you could equate with Jesus joining God in heaven) than his ability to physically show his strength (which seems more like the earthly part of the story and is also what Emma and Ambrose focus on). And yet, Grant is supposed to be the physical world representative and Ambrose the spiritual one?
ReplyDeleteIt's not clear exactly what Jefferson means when he remarks that Jesus "never said a mumbling word" as he faced execution, but when he first says it, it seems like he's disgusted, maybe even goading Grant a little--as if complaining that Jesus just let it happen, didn't resist or denounce his executioners. Jefferson is feeling a lot of (justifiable) anger, and there might be a part of us that would like to see him just go off on the whole crooked Jim Crow system--use his "last words" to denounce the whole lot of them as racist and corrupt and hypocritical. In some ways, this could seem heroic, or at least cathartic, and it would likely give voice to the feelings of many members of his community.
ReplyDeleteBut as the date nears, Jefferson does seem to become more "Christ-like" in his attitude--and with Grant's help, he comes to see a kind of manhood and dignity in "not saying a mumbling word." Denounce the executioners by refusing to be the person they've constructed you as.