A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaines reminds me of the film Return to Paradise directed by Joseph Rubio. The three main characters in the film Tony, Lewis and Sheriff became close friends during a trip to Malaysian paradise. Sheriff throws a rebel bike down a cliff and leaves a brick of hash in the garbage can in Malaysia. Tony and Sheriff return to New York but Lewis serves the last two years in prison for the destruction of the bike and obsession of drugs, which is enough to be prosecuted. Although Tony and Sheriff decide to take their share of responsibilities to save Lewis’ life, the judge still gives Lewis a death sentence. Lewis suffers from psychological damage during his imprisonment. Right before his execution, Sheriff calls out from the window to assure him that he is not alone. Jefferson writes in his last words in his diary “good by mr wigin tell them im strong tell them im a man” (Zobel 234). This shows that he understands he’s learned his lesson to express affections as a man, and will die as a brave and strong man. Victims in both works face an unchangeable decision, but at the last moment, they both confront it peacefully.

In the film To Sir, with Love, I respect Mr. Thackeray for that he consistently makes himself as an example for his students. He is always self-composed and very careful with his anger management; he never acts too extreme even though he is furious. If he scolds and curses at the students often, the students would talk back even louder, then the classroom would eventually become a clamorous street market. Speaking from my own experience, what a teacher does can really unconsciously influence the behaviors of the students. The importance of following an example is also shown in Reading selection:  “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X writes “when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversations he was in, and I had tried to emulate him” (par.4). Bimbi motivates Malcolm X to improve himself.

Mr. Thackeray changes his way of teaching when he realizes the traditional textbook lessons don’t work. In the case of Malcolm X, he adapts the prison environment and utilizes what he has access to. He borrows “some tablets and pencils from the Norfolk Prison Colony school” (par.5) and he “copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks” (par.7). This shows that during times of conundrums, working with what you’ve got is the best thing to do. You might accomplish something like both cases have shown. Mr. Thackeray gains the respect he deserves from his students; Malcolm X learns how to read.

In “What is Enlightenment?” by Immanuel Kant and The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, a concurring importance of freedom in one’s development being expressed heavily.

In answering the question “What is Enlightenment?”, Kant addresses “For this enlightenment, however, nothing is required but freedom, and indeed the least harmful of anything that could even be called freedom: namely, freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters” (par.5). He thinks reason is essential to reach enlightenment. According to Kant, an individual should be able to practice his reason freely to the public. He gives the example of “as a scholar, who by his writings speaks to the public in the strict sense, that is, the world”. For the society to reach enlightenment, our government should allow reason in the public sphere. I see this as freedom of speech like what we have today.

During Frederick Douglass’s life as a slave, freedom of speech is far from approachable. Slavery prevents people from improving themselves through education. I relate this to Karl Marx’s theory of species-being, the process of transforming inorganic matter to create things is the core identity of the human being. He works towards making himself free by expanding his horizons though self-education. He says “When I was sent of errands, I always took my book with me, and by going one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson before my return”(ch.7, par.4); “my copy-book was the board fence, brick wall, and pavement”; (ch.7, par.8)“I used to spend the time in writing in the spaces left in Master Thomas’s copy-book, copying what he had written”(ch.7, par.8). His education gives him the strength of will to escape. He says that learning how to read “had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out.” The monster in Frankenstein has a similar encounter. After he learns letters, he feel even more miserable about his situation.