The
concept of a hero as we have defined it in class is very different from the way
Grant describes it to Jefferson. In Campbell’s monomyth, the hero rises above almost
insurmountable odds to overcome obstacles alone. Although they might have
sidekicks or supernatural aid along the way, they are the main protagonist, and
the other characters are just there to provide substance to the story. Grant’s view,
on the other hand, is much more communal. Jefferson could be a hero because he “could
give something to [Miss Emma], to [Grant], to those children in the quarter. He
could give them something that [Grant] never could.”
The
scene in chapter twelve where the three men at the Rainbow Club are talking
about Jackie Robinson exemplifies this view of heroism quite well. The men remember
every statistic and every important event in his life not just because they are
fans, but because they are proud of him. Indeed, after someone acts out Jackie stealing
home plate, Gaines describes one of the old men as “nodding his head
emphatically, with great pride.” We get this same feeling of pride in the
African-American community with Joe Louis. When he loses his fight against
Schmeling, they ask themselves “what else in the world was there to be proud
of, if Joe had lost?” When he wins the second match, however, they “held their
heads higher than any people on Earth had ever done for any reason.” Clearly, although
Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis didn’t do anything in particular to improve the
lives of the people in the quarter, they were heroes because the
African-American community took pride in them and rallied around them. They
gave them hope that they could stand up to the racist system at the time and
succeed, and I think it is this hope and sense of pride that Grant is referring
to.
Although
more common, heroism in this sense of the word is not something that is easy to
achieve, and we see Grant try and fail many times to be a hero. In the Rainbow
Club, for example, he gives in to the pressures of racism, and can’t keep
himself from punching the two bricklayers who are insulting Jefferson. By
contrast, Jefferson has a unique way of uniting the community, and we see this
when the kids pool their money to buy a present for him at Christmas. Even
though he can’t avoid the fact that he will be executed, whereas Grant takes
action against the bricklayers spouting racist insults, Jefferson is the one who
is the hero, while Grant merely looks like a kid without any self-control.
Although I think Jefferson's actions himself warrant a larger change in the community because of his impact, I actually am glad that you dug deeper in how he changes the community. The mention of the kids pooling their money is a prime example of how his situation unites the community, along with the people in the quarter visiting his cell in the final days leading to his death. However, I think that Jefferson makes a good point in that the community is only like this in the midst of his death - no one treated him like this before. Jefferson dying as a man is a huge catalyst for change. Grant did help him, but ultimately it was all down to Jefferson.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Jefferson is the hero of this story, especially because he died in a way that his community could be proud of, but he needed Grant in order to become one. I don't think that Jefferson knew the impact he could make until Grant, who genuinely cared for him, came along.
ReplyDeleteI can't completely remember if this was ever a part of Campbell's monomyth, but I think it's necessary for the hero of a story to, at least to some extent, see himself/herself as the hero. This could entail stepping up to the task rather than letting someone else take it on, taking a position of leadership in a group working towards the ultimate goal, or a number of other things. Given that Grant explicitly states multiple times that he is neither heroic nor a good teacher, along with the fact that Jefferson is ultimately the one to take on the task of dying with honor for his black community, I think it is almost undeniable that Jefferson is the main hero of this story.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Jefferson is the hero in this story because he is the one who ultimately sacrificed his life and performed the action (dying as a man) that benefited his community. You also accurately pointed out that Grant has many flaws. However I still believe that credit should be given to Grant, because even though he acts as a kid several times throughout the book, he played a very important role in Jefferson's life during his time in jail. We can see this from the fact that Jefferson mentioned how good Grant was to him. Jefferson was ultimately able to be the hero because of the work that Grant put in.
ReplyDeleteThe fight with the bricklayers is particularly interesting here, as it has some potentially "heroic" qualities: he hears Jefferson being disparaged by these jerks, and he stands up for him. But Gaines makes clear that he's following a more Jackie Robinson/rise above/"when they go low, we go high" approach to heroism, as the fight is stupid and achieves nothing but a bunch of physical damage. Grant is back on the schoolyard getting into a name-calling fistfight, and we see Jefferson's dignity in the face of oppression as a much more heroic form of self-control.
ReplyDelete