EQ's+for+the+book

__Essential Questions__ 1. Is execution or the "death penalty" always the best choice? 2. How is the journey of becoming a man important in society? From looking at the books perspective, what does this say about African American's definition of a man? 3. Religion is present throughout the book. How does God give a person hope and strength? 4. Throughout the novel, lying played a major role in the plot. Evaluate if constructive lying is justified in someone's life.

__Essential Question Answers__ 1. There are only some situations where the death penalty is the correct choice. An example would be if a person is found guilty for killing another person. However, when the evidence is not all certain it is not right to assume and accuse someone of murder. In the story Grant was found guilty, but there was no real evidence supporting that he was guilty. In this situation the deth penalty was not the correct choice that was made for his punishment.

2. For the two main character's who faced a large amount of change, Jefferson and Grant, their journey of becoming a man was a tough time that tested them. When they were becoming men they had to go with hard to deal with situations in order for them to be able to become stronger. For example Grant had to deal with people like Ms. Emma and teaching Jefferson, but through him becoming a man he realized how he wasn't always right when dealing with people. Jefferson had to deal with his approaching execution and through that he learned how to be strong and how to face the future no matter what it is. This shows that African American's feel that one becomes a man after they have suffered through great problems and from them have become stronger. When they have they feel that the person will be respected for their great triumph over adversity.

3. God gives hope and strength to people all over the world. When people are depressed and looking for answers they turn to God and the church. By Tante Lou being such a spiritual woman, she has been able to have hope in Jefferson and keep her from accepting the idea that she must be depressed and angry because there is inustice in the south. Grant on the other hand is athiest and this reflects on his hope in souther society changing. For a great portion of the book Grant has no faith that he can change anything and that the cycle will never break. For example Grant says "Tante Lou, Miss Emma, Jefferson is dead. It is only a matter of weeks, maybe a couple months - but he's already dead.. There's mothing I can do anymore, nothing any of us can do anymore." This shows that without God in your life you could likely become like Grant; a bitter person and see no hope in your community when hardships arise. By a culture worshipping a religion, everyone in that society can be brought together. In the book we see this when most of the community come together to visit Jefferson before he dies and they tell him that they are praying for him. By Jefferson having all these visitors coming to see him he gains the final bit of strength he needed to be able to walk to the electric chair a man. The community came together due to their belief in God and they thought that visiting Jefferson was a morally just thing to do that would follow His teachings.

4. Throughout the story, lying is brought up in several different occasions, when it is used for the benefits of others. Constructive lying may has it's pros and cons. When involved in some situations, it feels that lying is better for all involved but, there is always the thought that you are being dishonest. Such as it shows in the book, when Grant lies to Mrs. Emma about Jefferson eating that day. Grant was only looking out for Mrs. Emma and didn't want to hurt her. In such a situation, constructive lying may be affective and help out everyone involved in the situation. When involved in a situation where being honestly can only hurt the person more then you want to, lying may be understandable. Constructive lying can be evaluated differently based on the certain situation one is in.