Preview

Life Lessons

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
321 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Life Lessons
Brenda Peña
English Composition

The Key to Patience Patience is a word that I constantly hear from my mother. My mother’s days as a young child were rough and not as convenient as things are now. Back in the 1970’s, in Dominican Republic there wasn’t such things as iPad’s, iPod’s and Iphone’s. Although it wasn’t the best life, she always had patience with everything she did and it truly brought her a long way. In the book “Life Lessons”, patience is one of the topics that the author Elizabeth Kubler ‘Ross and David Kessler mentions. It discusses on how patience affects our lives and the consequences in not having patience. I myself know I don’t have all the patience in the world however, by reading this book I actually think I’m not so bad. Elizabeth mentions how one of the hardest and frustrating lessons in life is realizing that we don’t always get what we want. You may want something now but you may not get it for a while. One of my favorite lines in this chapter is “In this modern world, people are not used to living in discomfort.” I adore that line because it is absolutely true! We all expect our results quickly and were all used to having things done immediately. For instance, if were hungry there’s always food available, from microwave dinners to all night grocery stores and restaurants. I’ve learned that according to the book, we need to develop faith and believe that everything will be okay. Trying not to always be in control of the situation and just letting things happen when there supposed to happen is what we need to do. In this world patience is crucial. For example, waiting in line to purchase items, our job, cooking, and people! Increasing the input of patience in everyone will bring out a better atmosphere and create a healthier way to work things

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    something of you. A Lesson Before Dying shows what it is like to accept what is given to…

    • 1538 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Grant Wiggins recalls the outcome of a trial. He says that he was not there, but he knew what the verdict would be. He pictures the courtroom, the judge, and the attorneys. He pictures his aunt, Tante Lou, sitting beside the defendant’s godmother, Miss Emma, both watching the proceedings with solemn rigidity. Grant can picture the back of Jefferson’s close-cropped black head as he sits at the defendant’s table.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "A Lesson Before Dying", explores the relationship that develops between two men in a rural Louisiana parish in 1940. A man, Jefferson, is convicted of murder and sentenced to die in the electric chair. The other man, Grant Wiggins, is the local schoolmaster.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Patience or procrastination? If you have one, then others assume you are doing the other. Is this always true though? It seems in our society people are always in a hurry and need to get things done quickly that patience has lost its virtue and those people have forgotten what it means. In Shakespeare’s drama “Hamlet” this argument has arisen more times than we could count, but when it comes to Hamlet and his actions they are mostly of patience and intellect.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In chapter 15, Vivian, Grants girlfriend, says she hopes Grant’s family will like her. She comes from a mulatto-community called Free LaCove. Vivian is married to a very dark-skinned man whom she met while attending Xavier University. Vivian kept her marriage a secret from her family because she knew her family will object. When she told her family they all avoided her.…

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying,” depicts a setting of a small town in rural Louisiana in the 1940’s. Slavery was abolished in 1865 in the 1940’s, however African Americans were still not treated with equality. Entire towns were still segregated; schools, churches, stores, bars, etc. African Americans were no longer slaves, but still lived on White American plantations, tending to their fields, houses and families. Grant Wiggins, the main character in the novel, is an African American teacher in the small town who is challenged to teach Jefferson, a prisoner on death row, a lesson before dying. He is confronted with many race related issues throughout the story.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    lesson 2

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages

    11. Privileged communicatioin was created because it gives wife and husband, clergy and communicant, psychotherapist and patient, physician and patient, and attorney and client time to talk about the case but it may not be used as evidence.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Lesson Before Dying

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, Mr. Grant Wiggins' life crises were the center of the story. Although he was supposed to make Jefferson into a man, he himself became more of one as a result. Not to say that Jefferson was not in any way transformed from the "hog" he was into an actual man, but it could be believed this story was really written about Mr. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins improved as a person greatly throughout the novel, and that helped his relationships with other people for the most part. But as a reader it cannot be forgotten about how Grant’s attitude was in the beginning to actually see the transformation in him. Grant’s bitterness was not one to look up to in the beginning of the novel because of his former teacher’s bitterness growing up. Though this was a negative in Grant’s personality he managed to have connections with people and grow through them. For example how he taught Jefferson meaning to life and to become a man. Through this Jefferson felt he could trust showing what impact each character had on each other. In the novel each character had their own characteristics and personality. There was something special about each character in the book. Each of them had their strong points and weak points for example Grant was always running away from his problems. This showed that even though Grant did become a man from teaching Jefferson in the end; for most of the novel Grant’s bitterness impacted his life strongly that he did not cope with his adversities well.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Lesson Before Dying

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This book was a great read, with many revealing themes included in this book. Although the one that stood out the most was that you have to recognize injustice and know it isn’t right as well as facing responsibility, this theme is revealed throughout this novel. Throughout this novel the characters have developed as better people, even if the changes weren’t significant. Though the development of Grant and Jefferson In a Lesson Before dying, the reader learns that one has to do what’s right no matter what the shame is or if you don’t want to do it because it’s the right thing to do. This is shown when Jefferson accepts his fate and becomes a better man, also Grant was forced to help Jefferson, and eventually he wanted to do it because it was the right thing to do; the last thing is Grant had to change his views on society, because it was the right thing to do as well.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lesson Before Dying

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Life is a journey with both ups and downs. In A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Grant Wiggins, Jefferson 's mentor, is expected to renew him as a man of honor and dignity before he is executed. Although Grant desires to escape and begin a new life, he is unable to do so because he is asked to educate Jefferson in heroism. Grant transforms into a more generous and sympathetic human being. Grant Wiggins tries to escape his fears and feelings, but in the process he realizes the forces that need him to stay are much greater.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lesson

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The story “The Lesson,” by Toni Cade Bambara, is about a young girl named Sylvia who is accompanied by a group of her friends from her neighborhood and her elderly neighbor named Ms. Moore, who tries to teach all of them a lesson about life. “The Lesson” is a realistic story that takes place in the mid-20th century that exemplifies the true difference between upper and lower classes during that time period. Although Sylvia might come off as a mean and cocky little girl, you can tell at the end that there is something deeper to Sylvia when she begins to reflect on her day with Ms. Moore and actually seems to gain something out of the situation and you can tell just how much sharp of an observer she truly is.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A lesson Before Dying

    • 1734 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, we begin by recalling a scene from the trial through Grant Wiggin’s eyes. Grant Wiggins is an elementary school teacher and also the narrator of this novel. He is an intelligent black man living in Louisiana. When recalling the vents of the trial, he states that he wasn’t there but he can visualize it. The events leading up to the trial were that Jefferson hitched a ride with 2 of his friends, Brother and bear. They all stopped at a liquor store, where brother and bear demanded that the store owner sell them alcohol. When the owner refused they all began to shoot leaving Jefferson standing there stunned. Brother, Bear, and the store owner all died in that store, and Jefferson saw the open cash register and started to take the money out of it. In the process 2 white men came into the store, and witnessed Jefferson taking the money. During the trial, his lawyer said he was a boy and wasn’t capable of planning a robbery. Once Jefferson was pronounced guilty, the judge said he was sent to death via the electric chair. Once the trial is over, Jefferson’s grandmother, and Tante Lou insist that the three of them, including Grant, should all go to the jail to teach Jefferson to die with dignity and not like a hog, as the court referred to him. Grant doesn’t want to go because he feels that he can’t help him and he hates the town that he lives in already.…

    • 1734 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lessons

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why do you think the rioters set out to kill Death? In your answer, consider the following:…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Lesson Before Dying

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Every day people are treated in ways that strip them of their humanity and dignity, they are made to feel worthless. Though, one must learn their worth before they die. Through the experiences of Jefferson, Reverend Ambrose, and Miss Emma, we can view how important ones worth is to them, especially to be known before one passes away. The novel "A lesson before dying" by Ernest Gaines, exemplifies that the most significant lesson to learn before dying is that you are worth something no matter what society deems you to be, and as long as you show your humanity and dignity, it does not matter what society thinks.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    marshmallow experiment

    • 352 Words
    • 1 Page

    These same individuals also were found to have higher S.A.T scores and more successful in their chosen careers. When they say patience is a virtue this statement really is true. Taking the time to do things right and follow a course that takes a little extra effort in order bring about greater rewards truly does exactly that. This ability to delay the primal instinct of gratifying ourselves is something that if more of had the world would be immensely better for us all.…

    • 352 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays