Jack's Things

In Room, when Jack begins to experience life in the outside world, it is clear that there are a tremendous number of things about how the world operates that he doesn't understand. One of these is the idea of ownership; at first, he struggles with the idea that something which exists can be someone's other than his and Ma's, since everything in Room, which used to be the extent of his world, was shared between them. However, even before he leaves Room, he begins to take something for himself, and he continues to do so after they escape.

The first object that Jack takes ownership of is Ma's bad tooth. Once it came out, it was simply lying around Room, and Jack didn't quite take full possession of it at first. He treated it much lie anything else in his limited world: it wasn't his or anyone else's, it was simply there, so it was his and Ma's to enjoy. While he values the tooth more than most other things in Room, since it came from Ma, he doesn't see it as specifically his. Even as he tucks the tooth into his sock in preparation for escaping, he doesn't yet convince of it as his possession, rather as a part of Ma, the thought of which gives him some courage. Interestingly, however, he does demonstrate some unwillingness to give it to Officer Oh, which points to the conclusion that he understood that he had a right to keep it before Ma told him that some things belong to other people.

Once in the outside world, Jack is still gaining an understanding of what it means for something to belong to him or someone else, but we see him taking full advantage of his knowledge that things can belong to him. He gathers some "treasures", including Ma's tooth, a maple seed, and a heart that fell off a bag, which he keeps for himself. Eventually, we see him refer to these objects as "my treasures", and he refers to the backpack Paul and Deana get him as specifically his as well, showing that he comprehends his ability to have control and ownership of them.

This would appear to point to a better understanding from Jack of the concepts he hadn't been introduced to in Room than might be assessed at first, but we also see that hes conception of property is limited as he doesn't understand how people are supposed to attain things such that they can belong to them. This is demonstrated by his unintentional shoplifting of the Dylan book. What this shows is not only his lack of a complete understanding of the functions of the outside world, but also the potentially problematic certainty he has of the things he thinks he understands, such as his ownership of the book, which immediately gets Paul and Deana into trouble. While this may be  typical of a five-year-old, situations like this do not bode well for Jack's adjustment to the real world.

A Friendly Bet

A topic which has been largely neglected in our discussions of A Lesson Before Dying is the bet which Sheriff Guidry and Henri Pichot have over whether Grant will be able to turn Jefferson into a man before his execution. The fact that we have not touched on this much is not surprising, since Gaines mentions it just as infrequently. However, it is a powerful representation of the themes this book expresses.

This bet clearly shows the contrast between the care that Emma, Lou, Grant, and other members of the black community feel for Jefferson, as demonstrated in numerous ways throughout the book, and the lack of interest beyond the potential for personal gain that the Sheriff and his wife, Pichot, and whites in general have for Jefferson. Even though Pichot bets in favour of Jefferson's successful progression, his lack of interest in the outcome outside of the case of whiskey he bets demonstrates his lack of sincerity and his involvement in the system which caused Jefferson's predicament in the first place. Largely, his and the Sheriff's intention in allowing Grant to visit Jefferson in jail is for their own enjoyment. Meanwhile, Emma's intention in sending Grant to convince Jefferson of his humanity is to benefit him and those who don't see him as a hog and don't want him to die as one.

The bet also has a more depressing implication. Grant's goal in making Jefferson a man is not only to make Emma happy; he also wants Jefferson to stand up against the system which named him a hog and killed him. Though Jefferson does this, it appears to be of little consequence, as he stands up against the system only long enough for it to kill him officially. The bet is another example of the futility of Jefferson's walk to the chair. Though it is not shown or considered in the book, it is safe to assume that Guidry, who bet against Jefferson, would not have given in to Pichot right away. He likely argued that walking to the chair was not an accurate measure of Grant's and Jefferson's success. Even if he had defined walking as the definition of Jefferson's humanity months before as he made the bet, the fact that the "official" definition is made by a white man who, as sheriff, is as integral to the oppressive system as anyone could be, means that the system continues unscathed after Jefferson's success.

What Gaines does by keeping this bet out of the centre of attention of the reader for the vast majority of the book is that he makes it a more perfect representation of the system of oppression. The whole book is about fighting against the system, which is done as the system continues to operate. As personal struggles and hopes of success begin to gather attention, less mind is payed to the perpetual nature of the system, since putting a dent in its function seems possible. However, just as the bet rears its ugly head once more in Jefferson's diary before his death, the system's integrity goes on despite the months of effort Grant has put in and the success Jefferson had.