I think we can all agree that food plays a very important role in A Lesson Before Dying. Jefferson’s arch from refusing food to requesting exactly what he wants, both the ice cream and his godmother's food, is a sure sign of “accomplishment”. Food is one of the first ways that Jefferson connects to his community. He shares his food with the other inmates and later the children share pecans with Jefferson and Jefferson gives his first message to his wider community. I absolutely love this. In my family, we cook to show each other we care without words. Like Ms. Emma, sometimes the only thing we know that we can do for each other is to make someone’s favorite food, which is why it is so compelling and heart-breaking when this attempt at comfort turns out to be futile.
Though I love the interlinked relationships between food, love, and responsibility in A Lesson Before Dying I was struck by the role that drink plays in the novel. We see a few instances of drinking, but most of them are pretty negative, though some are obviously more benign.
The two major instances that come to my mind are Jefferson being caught at the scene of the murder with his bottle of whiskey and when Grant gets into a fight at the bar. The Rainbow Bar is a common gathering place in A Lesson Before Dying and cannot be categorized as a “good” place or a “bad” place in the book but it is certain that bad things happen there. It is the physical building of The Rainbow Bar that brings Grant close enough to the men in the bar talking about Jackie Robinson and Grant feels animosity towards those men and looks down on them for their idolization of sports heroes. After Grant has had a particularly fruitful conversation with Jefferson he comes to the Rainbow Bar to wait for Vivian. When he gets to The Rainbow Bar Grant is very happy but this happiness quickly turns to animosity after, again, he overhears a conversation that angers him and he gets into a physical fight.
Two very destructive and negative scenes in the book center around alcohol, so while food is a positive force in A Lesson Before Dying, drink is not.
I love this post. Throughout the book I was often struck by the connection that was drawn between food and love/family. I hadn't considered the negative effect that alcohol seemed to have on characters in the book though. This might be a big stretch, but I remember on the night before Jefferson's execution Grant took home a pint for himself but didn't end up drinking it all. Maybe this is some sort of symbolism about Grant making the right choice to meet with Jefferson or his friendship with him?
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