Who is inez in a lesson before dying

Paul Bonin The young deputy at the county jail who befriends Grant and witnesses Jefferson's execution. Henry Louis and Amos Thomas The two old men who deliver the first load of wood to Grant's school, marking the onset of winter.

Next Chapters Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title. Just as his aunt angers him, however, his students anger him. He deals with them harshly, punishing them for tiny offenses and making them afraid. Although he cares for them, he frequently seems disgusted by them and convinced that they cannot make anything of themselves. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs Symbols. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics.

Suggestions for Further Reading Ernest J. Summary Chapters 3—5. Page 1 Page 2. Summary: Chapter 4 After dropping off Miss Emma, Grant informs his aunt that he will eat in town, which insults her. Summary: Chapter 5 The next morning, Grant returns to the plantation school where he teaches black children through the sixth grade.

Previous section Chapters 1—2 Next page Chapters 3—5 page 2. Test your knowledge Take the Chapters Quick Quiz. Popular pages: A Lesson Before Dying. Take a Study Break. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Lesson Before Dying , which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Inez greets him and Grant sees that she has been crying. She tells him that Louis Rougon has made a lavish bet—a case of whiskey—with Pichot.

This makes Inez—and, presumably, Grant himself—more eager to teach Jefferson to be a man. Active Themes. Inez goes to fetch Pichot , and Grant stands in the hall thinking about his afternoon. He returned from school to find Emma and Lou shelling pecans. Grant waits an hour in the hall while Inez goes to get Pichot. Inez whispers to Grant that Pichot and the sheriff are talking about Jefferson as they eat—the sheriff says that nobody can change Jefferson into a man.

She offers Grant food and coffee, but he refuses. Edna Guidry is the first white person in the novel who shows any sympathy to the Black community after Jefferson is sentenced to death. Uneducated even by the low standards of the neighborhood, Jefferson worked in the fields starting at age six.

Emma Glenn, or, as she is known to the novel's characters, Miss Emma, is Jefferson's godmother. Elderly, kind, and an excellent cook, her only wish is to see Jefferson go to his death with dignity so that they can be together in heaven.

She is best friends with Tante Lou, and uses this friendship to persuade Grant to give lessons to Jefferson. A young man with a bad reputation in the quarter. Bear is close friends with Brother, and has a reputation in the quarter for being a troublemaker. Jefferson is blamed for the murder and sentenced to death.

He stands by Jefferson and frequently visits Miss Emma, but comes into conflict with Grant because he believes that religion is the only way to impart dignity to Jefferson. Henri Pichot owns the plantation on which many of the people from the quarter work.

Miss Emma and Tante Lou were both employed by his family as cooks in their youth. Henri is married to Sheriff Guidry's sister, and remembering Emma and Lou's years of service, uses his influence to allow Grant to visit Jefferson in prison.

A wealthy friend of Henri Pichot, Louis frequently appears drunk and bets on whether Jefferson will face his death with dignity. Grant's beautiful mulatto girlfriend, Vivian, lives in Bayonne. Like Grant, she has a college degree and works as a schoolteacher. But while Grant is often frustrated by his job, Vivian loves working with the children and is kind and encouraging to them.

Vivian is estranged from her family because she married her first husband without their permission.