Upon reading A Lesson Before Dying, I came to the conclusion that sometimes the truth is too difficult to bare.   Also, the text proves that having status and formal education does not always mean that  you have more knowledge than others.  Grant Wiggins, an educated, intelligent man comes face to face with the fact that not matter how much he tries, his education has not equipped him with the ability to free his students from their place in society.
One part of the novel that really gained my attention was the conversation between Wiggins and the reverend.  On page 178, they’re discussing what Wiggins would do if Jefferson asked him about the existence of heaven.  Wiggins, a skeptic, says that he’d rather not think of something like that even happening, and the reverend has a quick change of attitude.  He quickly addresses why even if you tell people lies, they help people cope a lot of the time, and that that’s perfectly alright.  The reverend says that he “lies at wakes and funerals to relieve pain” and to help people overcome their sadness.   The reverend finishes his rant with “that makes me the educated one, and you the gump” implying that Wiggins has no right to judge him for his actions, and that he doesn’t have the same firsthand experience that the reverend has.  This all shows that even though Wiggins is well educated and full of formal knowledge, he lacks this basic understanding.  I think this really taps into the theme of “school isn’t everything”, and that a lot of the time we don’t learn important life lessons about humans, their thoughts, and their coping mechanisms.