jeffersonian jesus and a lesson on the bible
For this post, I would like to explore
A Lesson Before Dying and the Bible
and their similarities because I think it could be helpful to have a sort of Biblical
references for the class. The following information is from my knowledge as a card-carrying
Christian and my half-assed attempts at catechism—I’m kidding, information is
mostly from the Internet.
Without further ado, the Jefferson
Jesus:
Jefferson = Jesus.
- Jefferson, by all accounts presented in the book, was an innocent man wrongly sentenced to death by a corrupt higher authority. Jesus was also an innocent man sentenced to death by a hateful higher power. Most interestingly, Jefferson and Jesus start with “J” and have an “e” and “s.” but really, their intriguing similarity is that both are seen as moral figures larger than martyrs, they are Saviors. The appeal of both figures to the common and oppressed man is that even in the face of extreme dehumanization and discrimination, they walked to their executions with their heads held high, confident in their faith in themselves and in their God.
Grant = Peter.
- Simon Peter, commonly Peter, was one of Jesus’ most loyal disciples. However, he often struggled with his faith, needing regular reassurances of Jesus’ power. For example, when Jesus walked on water during the storm, he invited Peter to walk with him. But when he began questioning the logic of how he was walking, he started sinking. Traditionally, this is thought to be a depiction of how solid unquestioning faith will keep you afloat, while questioning and worrying about the nature of faith will lead you to sinking. I think Grant is the best Peter in A Lesson Before Dying because he does question his role and how he could stand with and help Jefferson to stand as a man. Yet, by the end of the day, both remained true to their friends and went on to spread their word.
Deputy Paul = Paul.
- Paul is the foundation of the Church. His letters became some of the major books of the Bible. In fact, they are the most important books of the Bible and he is among the top, if not the top, Apostle. In my opinion, that the Apostle Paul spread Jesus’ word to the world and that Deputy Paul spread Jefferson’s word to the world via sharing his notebook, aligns the two in the Biblical allegory of A Lesson Before Dying.
I hope this reference form helps anyone not in
7th hour or those who just didn’t follow our rousing discussion during
7th understand some of the references and people Gaines alludes to
in A Lesson Before Dying.
Another connection of Grant to Peter is that Peter is known to be the first pope sent out by Jesus to control the Church and the people within the Church. Grant is a teacher, and is in control of teaching the children. While he has only ever taught what he was told to teach, he is in a perfect position to foster knowledge of what Jefferson did to the young people of his parish, giving a kind of "authority" over views on Jefferson. Also, as a side note, Peter did not stay with Jesus during His execution, rather he famously denied Him three times before the next morning. This is kind of similar to how Grant decided to not show up for Jefferson's execution.
ReplyDeleteThe connection to the Bible is pretty clear to me, especially after reading this post. I also think that another connection between Jefferson and Jesus is their role as a hero/savior. Grant mentions how Jefferson is the only person who can break the cycle and better the futures of the people in his community. Similarly, Jesus (correct me if I'm wrong) saves the world of sin.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! Gaines did such a good job of weaving these Biblical "easter eggs" into his work, and I agree with all the character comparisons here. I never thought of Grant as Peter just because Grant played more of a teaching role to Jefferson and Peter wasn't a teacher to Jesus vs the other way around. However, the more that I think about it, I totally agree. In the end, Grant ends up learning so much from Jefferson--not through actual planned lessons, but just the overall experience--and that totally changes his life, similar to how Peter was completely changed through his time with Jesus in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who isn't remotely Christian, I actually had no clue that Jefferson and the people around him were so closely linked to the Bible. The parallels aren't hard to imagine after reading your post with the detailed explanations. Jefferson being equivalent to Jesus is almost painfully obvious (in a good way) with the circumstances surrounding him. His name, the system wrongly convicting them of crimes, his death being close to Easter, and a number of other signs make the connection quite easy to make.
ReplyDeleteI see your point that Jefferson's conviction-while-innocent is one major connection to the figure of Jesus, but the conspicuous and intentional placement of the execution around the Easter season suggests some deeper-level connections as well. With both, there's this strong sense that their story will resonate beyond its immediate context--the death will take on meaning beyond the individual story, to draw a community together, and even to somehow transcend the oppression (or at least provide a model for what transcending that oppression might look like--a refusal to be "defined" by a racist system). Jefferson isn't literally resurrected, but the survival of his notebook--and the prospect that Paul as well as Grant will read it, and they will both share their insights with Grant's students--suggests that his story will indeed live on, and maybe make a significant change in the local culture that Grant has formerly been so cynical about. The novel doesn't quite go so far as to say that Jefferson "saves" the community, but it comes pretty close.
ReplyDelete