A Lesson Before Dying: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Grant has arrived at the jailhouse. Paul searches him, though they both know there is no reason for it. As Paul walks Grant to the cell, he tells Grant that he is the first person to visit Jefferson since the date of the execution has been set.

In the cell, Grant greets Jefferson and offers him food, but Jefferson shakes his head and refuses to eat. Jefferson asks Grant what day it is; Grant answers that it’s a Friday. Jefferson begins to talk about the day he’ll be executed, and wonders aloud what kind of weather there will be. Grant asks him if he wants different food, or books or clothes for the next visit, and Jefferson tells Grant that he wants to eat a whole gallon of ice cream before he’s executed. Grant thinks that he seems unusually calm.

Grant proposes bringing Jefferson a small radio, and Jefferson agrees, though he doesn’t show any joy at the thought of the music. Afterwards, Jefferson stares into space, reluctant to say anything more to Grant. Rather than leave the cell early, giving the sheriff the idea that the visit hasn’t gone well, Grant stands in the cell and waits for the hour to elapse. When Paul comes to get him, he tells him that the visit was better than ever. Paul looks skeptical, but Grant thinks that Paul wants to believe what Grant told him. Paul promises Grant that he’ll deliver the radio to Jefferson himself.

After leaving the jailhouse, Grant doesn’t go home. He resolves to borrow money from Vivian in order to buy Jefferson a radio. With this in mind, he goes to the Rainbow Club to wait for Vivian to finish her day of teaching. As he waits, he tells Claiborne about Jefferson and his plan to buy him a radio. Claiborne doesn’t charge Grant for the beer, and even gives him extra money to buy the radio. Grant thanks him and tells him that he’ll pay him back soon. Grant then moves into the café of the Rainbow Club, where he tells Thelma about his plan to buy the radio. As he explains all this, he watches as Thelma’s facial expressions change: first she’s concerned, then angry that Claiborne gave Grant money, then concerned again when she looks around the café and sees that she has three other customers, meaning that she can spare some money. Thelma offers Grant ten dollars, and though he turns it down at first, he eventually accepts without saying thank you (he thinks that Thelma doesn’t want to be thanked).

With his money, Grant drives to a nearby store, where he finds a radio that gets three channels. He tests the radio by listening to a Baton Rouge station, and decides that it’s acceptable. A saleswoman offers him a slightly used radio for 19 dollars, but Grant insists on the full-priced radio, in the original box, for 20. The woman, slightly irritated, finds a new radio, and he buys it.

Grant drives back to the jailhouse, where he finds Paul and the sheriff. He tells the sheriff that he has a radio to give to Jefferson; the sheriff says that he’ll allow the radio, but that in the future Grant has to check before he brings gifts to the prisoners. Grant intentionally speaks in a stereotypical African American dialect, and doesn’t talk back to the sheriff. As he walks out of the jailhouse, he makes eye contact with Paul, who is smiling. Grant drives back to the Rainbow Club, where he hopes Vivian will come.