During our first session, we explored the distinction between Jefferson as a Christ-like figure and Jefferson as a secular hero to the African -American community. Bobby noted the conflict between the religious leader, Reverend Ambrose, and the the secular narrator,Grant, and we discussed ways a religious leader might provide comfort to the condemned ,Jefferson ,and ways Grant,the secular narrator ,offers hope.This led to an analysis of the role of the Church and a belief in heaven as an important element in the African -American community depicted in the novel. We then reviewed the portions of the text wherein Grant explains why only Jefferson,not he, can act as a hero to the community. Bobby did well in this textual analysis commenting on Grant's selfishness as an impediment to rising to become a hero. The two characters' inflection points were also examined. In the first, Jefferson opens himself up to Grant's idea of rising above his fated death, and in the second, Grant gets into a violent brawl defending Jefferson which Bobby recognized as evidence of Grant's commitment and caring for someone other than himself. During our second session, we worked on rewriting Bobby's essay comparing Tom Robinson in"To Kill A Mockingbird" and Jefferson in " A Lesson Before Dying.". I demonstrated the use of paragraphs for structure and cohesion, as well as other organizational skills and models. We further practiced the most effective way to incorporate quotes from the novels into the essay. For homework, read chapter 27, and answer one study guide question.