A Lesson Before Dying : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Lesson
Review: A Lesson Before Dying is a wonderful book that touched me in so many ways. Ernest J. Gaines, himself growing up in a similar setting, makes his novel very realistic. He bases most of his novels on real life experiences from his youth. This book takes place in the late 1930's in Louisiana. A black man named Jefferson was said to be guilty for killing a white man- a crime he did not commit. Mr. Wiggins, the teacher at the colored church elementary, is asked by Jefferson's godmother to go visit him in jail. In court, Jefferson was called a "hog", and not a man. Jefferson's godmother, Miss Emma, wanted Mr. Wiggins to teach Jefferson ,before he is executed, that he is a man. The two men grow a relationship, and Jefferson is eventually able to express his feelings by writing to Mr. Wiggins in a journal. Jefferson is a very honest person, and you really feel like you know him at the end. That is the thing I liked most about the book, it is very realistic. I feel that this is one of the best books I have ever read, and reccomend it to anyone who does not mind a little sadness.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful and Moving Novel
Review: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is an excellent story about duty and heroism. It takes place on a small Southern plantation outside of Bayonne, Louisianna in the 1940's. At this time in America when society is still torn by racial segregation, an innocent black man named Jefferson is found guilty of robbery and murder and sentenced to death by electrocution. The majority of white men in town share the sentiment that Jefferson's life has no more worth than that of a hog's. This is where the narrator, Grant Wiggins comes in. Grant, a professor at a very primitive grade school for black children, is the only educated black man on the plantation. He is asked by Jefferson's godmother, Miss Emma, and ordered by his own aunt, Tante Lou, to visit Jefferson in jail and teach him, before he goes to the electric chair, that he is not a hog but a precious human being. Grant is already unhappy and despaired with what he thinks is a futile life, teaching black children who, despite his efforts, will turn out just like Jefferson anyway. All he wants to do is run away with his girlfriend Vivian, but he is tied down by the obligation he has to his fellow black man. Although Grant is reluctant to begin visits with Jefferson, and Jefferson is just as reluctant to receive these visits, the two eventually form a very close bond. This story centers around their relationship and the lesson they teach each other about fulfilling responsibility and dying with dignity.
It is no wonder why this novel is a classic. It is eloquently written, emotionally powerful, easy to follow, and very profound in its subjects and themes. The characters are well-developed and difficult not to empathize with. Grant is an especially dynamic character, but everyone in Gaines' novel contributes to an understanding of the overall plot and its purpose. Vivian, for instance, acts as the voice of reason and the support Grant needs to continue his lessons with Jefferson. Henri Pichot and Sheriff Guidry represent the fear and ignorance that keep racial segregation so prevalent in American society. A Lesson Before Dying is deep on many levels, and there is no one that I would not recommend it to.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Exploration of Race, Injustice, and Resistence
Review: "I was not there, yet I was there. No, I did not go to the trial; I did not hear the verdict, because I knew all the time, what it would be...
A Lesson before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines is a moving, powerful novel about a black individual put on death row for a crime he did not commit. In a small Cajun community, in the1940s, a young black man is about to go to the electric chair for murder. The story is set in racist Louisiana and tells of the redemption of a death row prisoner and the teacher sent to help him die with dignity.
Symbolism is a major part in the understanding of the book. The book was top notch for the theme of heroism. One theme that is predominately heard throughout the novel is "actions speak louder than words". As Grant struggles to convey a sense of pride to Jefferson before he must face his death, he learns an important lesson as well: heroism is not always expressed through action--sometimes the simple act of resisting the inevitable is enough.

Rating:
Summary: A Lesson Before Dying: An Inspirational Book
Review: A Lesson Before Dying is one of the best books that I have ever read. This book focuses on the racial differences in the 1940s and how blacks were treated unfairly. Jefferson, a young black man,accused for murder is sentenced to the death chair. Without proper evidence, the all white jury assumes that he killed a white man. However, Jefferson is actually a good boy who was raised by his Aunt Nannan. After realizing that her nephew will die soon, she wants him to die a man and a believer in God. Unfortunately, Jefferson endures name calling and racial abuse, thus he feels that he is only a worthless hog. It will take the help of his former teacher, Grant Wiggins, to make his Aunt's dream come true. The road to making Jefferson a man and a believer is not an easy one. Even Mr. Wiggins must learn a lesson and become a believer. I recommend reading this book because it seems as if the reader " learns a lesson before dying" with Jefferson and Grant. It is also significant because many black men and women in our past died as Jefferson- innocent. However, there was nothing he or she could do but keep the faith: that can never be taken away

Rating:
Summary: A man handling a difficult task.
Review: This book really hit me hard. I grew up in the deep South in the 1960's and witnessed some of the segregation and attitudes that fill this story. But to see only that in this book would be a mistake. There are multiple themes here. Gaines explores the idea that we must sometimes move out of the familiar if we are going to change. The line 'if you stay, you'll become the n***** they believe you to be' is very powerful and applies to all us all at times. As we strive to improve ourselves, to be more than we are, there are forces that strive equally hard to keep us in 'our place'. Often these forces are not as obvious as the bigoty portreyed in this book, but they are as real.
There is also a thread of hope sewn into this story. Hope of change, growth and improvement. We see it in Jefferson, in the deputy and finally in Grant himself as he learns an important lesson.

This book is not FUN to read, but everyone should read it.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book was just fantastic! The writing style and themes are as brilliant as McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or "Cry, The Beloved Country." This was one of the most moving, intense, and touching books I've come across in a while. Heart-warming without being sappy, and literary without being boring, you simply cannot go wrong with this one.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: First off i would like to say that I was suprised that a classical book would trigger my individual book taste...but i was truly impressed. I loved this book, and suggest everyone read it. It is a story of a misaccusted young black youth who by being at the wrong place wrong time, must die in jail. Coming from a very respectable family they wish him to be visited by a teacher...in hope that he can die like a man. They give the unwilling teacher the great responsibility of opening a young man's eyes and heart, and teach him that he (a black boy) is much more than what white society may view him as. In the end the boy is able to possess integrity, strength, faith, and pride although fate has short future for him. Defanantly a beautiful and soul-fufilling book.

Rating:
Summary: This book sucked.
Review: Ugh. I had to read this bok for school and it sucks. Preformatted, horrible, and boring. Dave is so wrong with his review. The only lesson that I learned is that the book sucks.

Rating:
Summary: a great lesson on life
Review: The Book a Lesson before Dying was a great book. After you get past the beginning, which is a little sluggish the novel beguines to get interesting. To me the book was somewhat confusing, but I got the hang of it. The book teaches a great deal about how racism and discrimination worked back then. During the end of the novel when Grant gave Jefferson the journal to write his thoughts in was the most compelling part of the book, in a sense that after all this time you finally find out what's in his head and how he feels. This book teaches everyone a great lesson on life and how it really works.