A Lesson Before Dying (Audio Theatre Collection)

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Summary: The Product of a Brilliant Mind
Review: Capital punishment, segregation, and acceptance have been a part of past and present times. Those issues along with tragedy, injustice, and accomplishment are part of the fascinating story, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines. The setting for this novel is a small town in the south during the 1940s where the two main characters are Jeferson and Grant. Jefferson is condemned to death by electrocution for a crime he did not commit. When his godmother realizes that nothing can be done for his freedom, she asks Grant to help him die like a man. After being called a hog by his defense attorney, Jefferson looses the little dignity he had and it's up to Grant to restore it. Grant doesn't like the idea, but he's forced to comply to it by his aunt. In return, Grant learns about the soul and spirit. Gaines writes this tragic story and reveals his feelings of capital punishment, segregation, and the difficulty of acceptance in a unique way, which thus makes this novel a 1993 winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Ernest J. Gaines was born into the world he describes in A Lesson Before Dying. "Though the places in my stories and novels are imaginary ones, they are based pretty much on the place where I grew up and the surrounding areas where I worked, went to school, and traveled as a child..."(Vintage Books) depicts Gaines. Although what he says, Gaines has a special way of letting the reader know what his opinion is on capital punishment. He describes his feelings about this form of punishment through Grant. When the date for Jefferson's death is set, Grant thinks about the way someone can plan a man's death. "How do people come up with a date and time to take a life from another man? Who made them God?" Those were the thoughts going through Grant's mind, and they showed the billiance of an author who expresses his feelings in a unique manner. Grant and Jefferson convey to the reader the true meaning of soul and spirit by teaching each other those values. Grant shows Jefferson to die with dignity. Then, conversely, he is learns a few things about the soul. The way they respond to each other is described so clearly, it's as if the reader is in that lonely and desolate cell. Gaines also wrote about the mulattos to tell the reader about the struggle with acceptance. He teaches the reader about segregation and acceptance through his other characters. Bars in the back of town for "blacks only", "blacks only" restrooms, and the school where Grant teaches for "blacks only" are only some of the examples of segregation Gaines so explicitly places in the novel. A Lesson Before Dying is a touching and powerful novel that reaches out to the reader and portrays a time of injustice, inequality, and struggle. Gaines does an exquisite job of describing thoroughly the pain of enduring those issues. That description makes the story powerful enough to change some readers' thoughts. By comprehending the struggle these main characters go through, the reader gets a broader view of society which makes him/her a better person.

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Summary: Oprah Has Good Taste
Review: Ernest Gaines' novel A LESSON BEFORE DYING is a fast paced, powerful novel that can reach readers on many levels. The book takes place in the segregated south of the 1940's. Grant Wiggins, a local educator, is too qualified to be teaching at the local school, but his possibilities are limited due to his race. He has big dreams, but is trapped due to the social conventions of his time. Since he is an educated person, the community expects a great deal from him, especially his grandmother and her friends. He is expected to try and help a young man named Jefferson, an African American who has been sentenced to death, die with the dignity he never had in life and much of the plot revolves around the decisions he has to make regarding Jefferson.

The book could easily turn into a moralistic tale where a basically good person does the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. Gaines avoids this route. Grant struggles with the expectations of others, his own religious beliefs, what he reasonably owes the community, as well as the normal struggles of any young person trying to find joy, happiness, love, and satisfaction in the world. We see in Grant a character who deserves our respect and admiration, not because he is superior, but rather because of the way in which he uses his strengths and wrestles with his own demons.

When the book was first published, I purchased quite a few copies for friends. It sat on their shelves until the book was part of Oprah's book club. Then it became a must read. Oprah had great taste in choosing this book.

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Summary: A Long Road to a Valuable Lesson
Review: Ernest J. Gaine's, A Lesson Before Dying, was the longest 250 page book I ever have read. It's slow pace and predictable events put me right to sleep. The book takes place in the 1940's in a highly racially segregated part of a small Louisiana community. Jefferson, a young black man, is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to the electric chair. The majority of the book is the time between his accusation and his death, in which his old teacher, Grant Wiggins, tries to make a man out of him at the wishes of his godmother (Tante Lou, Jefferson's mom). Grant's goal is to make the hopeless Jefferson into a man, and destroy the white man's myth that the white race is superior. So after frequent visits from the teacher and Jefferson's family, Jefferson decides to stand as a man and die with pride to further the black populations struggle for equality. By sacrificing for this cause, Jefferson defined what it is to be a man by giving his all for others and what he believes in. Everyone in the book is so amazed and enlightened by his actions, and they learn what it means to be a man or even human for that matter (Even Grant Wiggins). It proves we all have something to learn in life, but after twenty pages I guessed the ending because I have encountered a similar theme in multiple other works. I suppose I'm a sucker for happy endings, but I wanted to know where the justice was. Jefferson was a decent human being, and yet he and his family suffered. The question that arises is; "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Well I don't like that Jefferson seemingly had an unfair turn of events, but being a man of God, I accept the idea the he will be compensated for in Heaven. No one is above death or fate, and for that reason I believe we are all equal. On a side note, the author had some excellent descriptions of the food that Tante Lou made for Jefferson, and I have to say I found myself hungry quite often. Overall I believe that the lesson in the book was a subtle yet valuable one, but it seemed to take the author forever to get there. Other then the fact that there was not much "happening" in the book, I thought I was a worthy read for someone who has a lot of time on their hands.

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Summary: Struggles in an Unjust Society
Review: Ernest J. Gaines, the author of A Lesson Before Dying, has written a novel that is difficult to put down, though the conclusion is inevitable. Gaines creates a strong emotional power that is set in the story, one that the reader will not likely forget. As the first chapter was read, I began to instantly visualize what the characters were actually seeing. This is definitely a compassionate novel that left me tearful.

The story, about two young black men struggling in their unjust society, is set in a small community in Louisiana during the 1940's. Jefferson, who just so happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, witnesses a shootout between a white store owner and two black men. It also just so happens that Jefferson is the only survivor and witness. He is put on trial and because of his race, convicted of murder, sentenced to death by electrocution. But before his execution, Jefferson's sickly Godmother's only wish is for him to believe he is a man and not a hog, as the defense had cruelly stated him as. His Godmother believes this can only be done by persuading Grant Wiggins, the school teacher, to gain access to visit Jefferson in prison and help him face his death with dignity.

Grant, the educated school teacher, who has returned from the University back to his hometown, is living a life full of problems. Grant struggles with his decision to run away with the woman he loves, although deep inside he knows he cannot leave his aunt. He is also involved in many arguments with his aunt over him not believing in God and also him dating Vivian, his girlfriend. Now Grant must fulfil a wish of a dying old woman, and help Jefferson to die like a man. Eventually through the story the two men acquire a relationship that changes them both.

The beginning of the story was a little boring, but with an urge to finish the book, I kept reading, and it kept getting better the further I read even through the end of the novel. The chapters contained events from one day to the next so it was very easy to understand and pick up where I left off. The only confusing chapter was reading Jefferson's diary. Although I believe it was essential to the novel to include this chapter, it was difficult to read. This chapter lets you understand and realize what exactly Jefferson was thinking and going through right up until his execution. The words written, in this part, would have been exactly like the poor grammar Jefferson would have used because he was almost illiterate. The words written were parts of words with misspellings and no punctuation making me have to slow down the reading and at times think of what words he was actually referring to.

This story, I think, dealt with heroism that does not always have to be shown through a persons actions. It also dealt with major issues of race and identity. For example, Grant struggled with being the well educated man he thought he was or being the ... they (meaning the white people) knew he was. This story made me also think how unjustly blacks were treated.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an emotional story that has a meaning to it that can be different to each person depending on how they look at it. Just remember that when you read it do not stop reading it just because you know what the ending will be because each chapter brings more and more meaning to the story.

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Summary: A Lesson For Life
Review: This is a powerful, poignant tale about the great evil and ultimately the greater good that human beings are capable of inflicting on each other. Set in segregation-era Louisiana, a young black man called Jefferson is falsely accused and convicted of murder. His godmother, enraged by the fact that he is compared to 'a hog' enlists the help of the local teacher Grant to 'make him a man' before he is put to death. Grant is initiatly reluctant to help Jefferson, as he himself is plauged with doubts about his own racial identity and goals as a teacher. This hence sets into a motion an incredible journey that changes the lives of all concerned forever. What makes this book an incredible read is the fact that it presents its message so effectively. It is a moral lesson without preaching, a cry for justice without propaganda. 'A Lesson Before Dying' compares favourably with other race-relation classics such as 'Cry Freedom' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. One must consider what is written in this book before even beginning to concieve what it means to be American, and for that matter human.

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Summary: Life and death is 1940s Lousiana.
Review: This is a wonderful novel about segrationist Lousiana and about two men trying to become men. One is a slow, barely literate young black wrongly accused of murder, and the other is a young black profesional working as a teacher in a plantation school. Both are trying to attain their manhood. The young person convicted of murder becomes a man first and shows the community what it is like to face a grim fate with dignity and courage. The young black professional learns from this person how he should conduct his life.
This is wonderful story with good life examples of how people become adults. It is not only serious, but has some good stories that I chuckled over. A great read.

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Summary: A Local Masterpiece
Review: This story takes place in in 1940s Louisiana in a small Cajun town in which a black school teacher,(Grant Wiggins), is called upon to make a young, wrongly convicted black man,(Jefferson), go to his electric chair as a man rather than a "hog". This is an emotional and touching book that makes readers realize that any form of racism is unecessary under any circumstances. It shows that sometimes people must go through hell in order to achieve something that seems unachievable. A Lesson Before Dying also sympathizes with people who are unhappy with their surroundings due to chaos and want to just run away from it all. At the very end of the book, Grant and Paul, ( deputy at the Bayonne prison), are walking down a road talking about how Jeffersons execution went and Paul tells Grant that he is one of the best teachers he's ever seen. They end up shaking hands, and to me, this indicates that somewhere down the line, blacks and whites will bond one day and all of this ridiculous racial tension will end. This is the kind of book that seems like time flies when you're reading it because you get caught up in it and it is so interesting and easy to understand. Earnest J. Gaines definitely put together one hell-of-a book when he wrote A Lesson Before Dying. Don'y hesitate to buy it.