Characters
Now that you know something about the story, I think it is time to get to know the characters. These characters develop throughout the story in order for Gaines to effectively portray his intended messages and themes.
Grant - The Teacher
Grant learns how to be more accepting of others. At the beginning, he was very pessimistic and did not believe Jefferson would be able to die with pride. However at the end of the story he says, “My eyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life. Yes we all need you.” His character learned how to see the positives of every situation. In parallel, this effectively taught me that it is possible to change and overcome stereotypes.
Jefferson - The Student
Jefferson learns how to die with prideful man. He initially believes that he is a hog and has no self worth. However by the end of the story he says, “Good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man”. Gaines created many parallels between Jesus Christ and Jefferson because they both died near Easter as innocent with something to prove. This association allowed me to make connections between Jefferson and the well-known story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Sheriff Guirdy - The Antagonist
In the beginning, the Sheriff believed that all black people must conform to their stereotypes. However by the end of the novel he learned that Grant was not the push over teacher and Jefferson was not the idiotic criminal. This effectively taught me that is is possible to change the views of an outside authoritarian.
The character developments taught me the importance of many traits such as persistence, positivity and acceptance.
date: August 12, 2015