A Lesson Before Dying Injustice Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

They sentence you to death because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no proof that you had anything at all to do with the crime other than being there when it happened. Yet six months later they come and unlock your cage and tell you, We, us, white folks all, have decided it's time for you to die, because this is a convenient date and time. (20.67)

Grant is so frustrated by the extreme injustice of Jefferson's situation, because he is absolutely powerless against the system. He, Jefferson, Miss Emma, and the others have no hope of ever pointing out how unfair the whole situation is, because they are not privileged by the system.

Quote #8

But they can't take this one's life too soon after the recognition of His death, because it might upset the sensitive few. It can happen less than two weeks later, though, because even the sensitive few will have forgotten about their Savior's death by then. (20.69)

The fact that most of the population in Louisiana is Catholic affects the way that justice, or injustice, is carried out. It seems unfair to Grant to respect one group's beliefs but then ignore the rights of another group.

Quote #9

"So each time a male child is born, they hope he will be the one to change this vicious circle—which he never does. Because even though he wants to change it, and maybe even tries to change it, it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind." (21.86)

In a way, it's unfair to ask one person to change and overcome all the generations of baggage he's born with, because why should he have to do all that work where no one else does? But that's what is being asked of Jefferson and Grant, and they are doing their best to fulfill the unfair expectations.