Saturday, June 27, 2015

I need a quotation from Chapter 30 or 31 in A Lesson Before Dying.

Significant quotations from stories are often related to
the theme and/or the author's purpose for the story.  In A Lesson Before
Dying,
the last two chapters of the novel contain many statements that are
related to theme, one of which is in Chapter 31:  "I took his hand.  He held mine with
both of his."  Here, Paul has come to give Grant the notebook that Jefferson kept, and
Paul tells Grant that Jefferson was the bravest man in the room during the execution. 
Paul wants to be friends with Grant so that they will never forget the importance of
that day.  All along, Paul has been the only white man in the story who has acted fairly
towards blacks; Miss Emma and Grant even say that Paul comes from good stock, implying
that his family is respectable and humane.  Jefferson's death has brought together two
men of different races, and racial division is a major conflict in the novel.  The
clasping of hands is significant of the change that may potentially occur when racial
divisions are eradicated. 

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