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DOCUMENT 1 The scene takes place in a prison. Jefferson has been sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. "Jefferson,” I said. We had started walking. “Do you know what a hero is, Jefferson? A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something
DOCUMENT 1 The scene takes place in a prison. Jefferson has been sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. "Jefferson,” I said. We had started walking. “Do you know what a hero is, Jefferson? A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don’t and can’t do. He is different from other men. He is above other men. No matter who those other men are, the hero, no matter who he is, is above them.” I lowered my voice again until we had passed the table. 5 “I could never be a hero. I teach, but I don’t like teaching. I teach because it is the only thing that an educated black man can do in the South today. I don’t like it; I hate it. I don’t even like living here. I want to run away. I want to live for myself and for my woman and for nobody else.” “That is not a hero. A hero does for others. He would do anything for the people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better. I am not that kind of person, but I want you to 10 be. You could give something to her, to me, to those children in the quarter. You could give them something that I never could. They expect it from me, but not from you. The white people out there are saying that you don’t have it—that you’re a hog, not a man. But I know they are wrong. You have the potentials. We all have no matter who we are.” “Those out there are no better than we are, Jefferson. They are worse. That’s why they are 15 always looking for a scapegoat, someone else to blame. I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be. To them, you’re nothing but another nigger—no dignity, no heart, no love for your people. You can prove them wrong. You can do more than I can ever do. I have always done what they wanted me to do, teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Nothing else—nothing about dignity, nothing about identity, nothing about loving and 20 caring.” Ernest J. Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying, 1993, (pp. 191-192). 14ANTE1PO3 2/4 DOCUMENT 2 Vice President Biden Honors Fallen Firefighters in Arizona Vice President Biden traveled