These three chapters establish the basis for the evolving friendship between Grant and Jefferson. By agreeing to a joint visit with Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Rev. Ambrose, Grant indicates his willingness to comply with Miss Emma's wishes and to do what is best for Jefferson. By stopping by the drugstore to get the notebook and pencil he has promised Jefferson, even if it makes him late for his meeting with the others, he indicates his desire to build trust between himself and Jefferson. And by addressing Jefferson as "partner" and asking him to be his friend, he indicates his willingness to talk to him man to man, thus demonstrating by his behavior that Jefferson is worthy of respect.
During this visit, Grant also demonstrates two characteristics we have not seen him exercise before: patience and compassion. Instead of lecturing Jefferson about his behavior, he takes time to explain to him how his behavior is affecting Miss Emma and what he can do to ease her pain. In effect, he teaches Jefferson three important lessons on friendship, heroism, and the devastating power of racial myths. But instead of merely defining these concepts in abstract terms, he defines them through example and analogy. To reinforce his lessons, he relates them to Jefferson's life experience, thereby demonstrating how these seemingly abstract concepts apply to him personally. For example, to illustrate the concept of friendship, he points out what Jefferson can do to be a friend to his nannan; to illustrate the concept of heroism, Grant points out that a hero is not an extraordinary person, but an ordinary person who does things for others, such as taking a stand against injustice; and to point out that human beings have the power, potential, and responsibility to create their own lives, Grant reminds Jefferson of the slingshot handle that Mr. Farrell made for him out of scraps of driftwood. Consequently, as we listen to Grant, we realize that he is finally becoming a teacher in the true sense of the term — that is, he is beginning to awaken and nurture in others the desire to learn, rather than being someone who attempts to force others to learn through fear and ridicule. In effect, Grant teaches the same lesson on moral obligation and personal responsibility that he attempted to teach earlier (see Chapter 18). But this time, because Grant takes time to develop a personal relationship built on trust and respect, to establish solid connections between his lesson and Jefferson's life experience, to use simple everyday language, and to present Jefferson with a frame of reference that makes the lesson relevant and applicable to him personally, Jefferson understands and responds. In short, by getting through to Jefferson, Grant has also "gotten through" to his own innate ability to teach through example and practical application.
