Rating: 
Summary: Brillantly written, but slow moving
Review: It is a story set in a small town in Louisiana in the late 1940's, when racism is still extremely prevelent in the southern society. More than anything, this novel is a coming of age story. Jefferson, a young, uneducated black man witnesses a robbery, and as the only survivor, he is found guilty and sentenced to the electric chair. At his trial the white defense attorney states that Jefferson doesn't have the intelligence to plan a robbery, saying "What Justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." This sets the tone for the rest of the story.
Grant Wiggins, a school teacher, (one of the only educated black people in the town), is asked by Jefferson's godmother to teach him dignity, and how to be a man before he dies. Reluctantly, Grant agrees to visit Jefferson, urged on by his aunt and girlfriend, Vivian. In the visits to Jefferson's cell, Grant tries to instill in Jefferson some self worth, as he persistantly tries to live out the description of himself as a "hog". Although Grant wavers in getting through to Jefferson, he eventually does, and begins to break him down. Both men fight eternal demons, however, they later learn the power of frienship and learn to fight those demons together, each holding the others burdon on their shoulders. Through Jefferson, Grant learns to fight the oppression of the white communitty, and Grant helps Jefferson see the meaninf of his life and self-worth, not to himself, but to others who care for him. In the end, they each succesfully conquer their demons, and Jefferson learns to "stand" and to walk to his death as a man. Was a good book with many deep thought provoking themes, and the character interaction between Grant and Jefferson was great, but it's not an action packed book, so don't expect to be sitting on the edge of your seet the entire time.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Yet Appealing
Review: Taking place in World War II era Louisiana, A Lesson Before Dying depicts the struggle of a community through the experiences of one man. Grant Wiggins, born and raised on a sugar cane plantation, on which he is now the schoolteacher, is faced with the challenge of shaping a young innocent man named Jefferson, unjustly convicted for murder, into a man before his execution. "Now his godmother wants me to visit him and make him know-prove to these white men-that he's not a hog, that he's a man. I'm supposed to make him a man. Who am I? God?" Grant struggles with himself and the others around him in search of his own identity. The faith of the community lies upon Grant as a hero, and forces him to realize his importance to his people. As a result of his revelation Grant comes to understand his role amongst his peers and accepts the challenge presented to him by the matriarchs in the story, Miss Emma, and Grant's Aunt, Tante Lou. A Lesson Before Dying, although slow at times, was rich in character development, and is worthy of much praise due to its wonderful account of the struggle of a people. A classic story of faith, love, struggle, and heroism, A Lesson Before Dying promises to enhance the perspective on which one views life, basically a wonderfully told tragedy.
Rating:
Summary: Insight and Reflection
Review: I feel that this book has a powerful meaning that touches those who have a sense of heart and pride. It slowly enfolds itself several days after one has finished reading it. It is not a book with action and/or suspense, rather it is a book that causes the reader to think for him/herself. It starts out plainly and ends the way the reader might perceive it to end. It is completely predictible; it is this predictability that directs the mind and spirit toward a deeper meaning of the book.
The two main characters, Grant and Jefferson, transform through their hesitant openness to change. Their changing causes them to realize their purpose in life and what it means to have faith. They begin to grasp a sense of pride as they journey through this transformation and as this pride grows stronger, they grow stronger. Finally, I recommend this book to those who enjoy reflecting on and analyzing books, and/or to those who would like to get in touch with their inner-self. It is a great book that will hopefully inspire faith, hope, and herosim in each and every person that reads it.
Rating:
Summary: A Deeper Perspective of Prejudice
Review: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines is a prime example of how a man must face himself and own up to his own burden in life. The story is about two black men who learn about possibly the most important lesson in life, God. Understanding God and death is a lifelong task that is extremely complex. The two main characters attempt to learn not only the tangible, but the intangible too. The tangible is mathematics, english, and ultimately how to become a civilized man. The intangible is something the teacher, Mr. Wiggins, even doubts himself. The intangible is God. Their burden is to learn these things together, and to teach Jefferson how to accept his death and injustices like a man. In the story both characters go through a change." You shut up, or get up," I said. "I mean that."(199) Grant hears two men in a bar talking about Jefferson like a hog, and he finally decides to fight for his race and not be afraid anymore. He learns how to fight for his race out of his care for Jefferson. That is one of the lessons that Jefferson taught Grant. Not to be afraid anymore; however, at this point in time that behavior from a black man is trouble. Jefferson ends up being the brevest man to walk to the chair, and that is told by the courtroom witness Paul. At the end, Grant thinks the change is a miracle from God. Grant finally learns his lesson on a deeper perspective of prejudice; moreover, he learns that you can change things. You can learn about god and about life also. That may be the lesson that occurs before we all die.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD - But has a few flaws
Review: A Lesson Before Dying is a story of many themes and values; all of which are positive and insightful. Although it may be slow moving and undeveloped in some aspects, the book teaches important lessons that everybody could benefit from. I would recommend purchasing this book. Taking place in the 1940's, the lesson begins with a young, black, male who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and as a result is falsely accused of two murders. This illustrates one of the featured themes of the story: racism. I think racism is very easily detected as a theme to the story. With a weak story line though, the reader maybe distracted and lose focus of the reoccurring theme of racism. There are many characters in this story including the Death Row Inmate, and Grant Wiggin, who is a teacher that is sent by Jefferson's mother to convene with Jefferson. Also there is the white Sheriff of the small southern town and the mothers of Grant and Jefferson, never in the story do you get the feeling that you know and understand any of these characters. With poor character development, never do you completely feel as emotional about the character's different problems. The storyline of A Lesson Before Dying completely evolves around the theme of redemption. The white folks of his town label Jefferson as a "HOG". The object of Grant visiting Jefferson at the county jail is to convince him that he is not a HOG and to walk to the electric chair with dignity and pride. I like the theme of redemption and it is interesting the way Grant gets the theme across to Jefferson. Even though this story has its flaws, i.e. its very slow reading, has a boring storyline, and the lack of character development, I think the lessons and values taught should not be passed up.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written books suffers from slow plot.
Review: An Oprah's book club selection, A Lesson Before Dying was a book requiring much reflection and interpretation. The trial in which Jefferson was found guilty was over with before then end of the first chapter. Having been finished nine pages into a book of over 250, the most exciting part of the book quickly digresses into many chapters of very little action. The lack of action will make the casual reader lose interest. Although the plot slows down, there is still action going on. The action shifts from what happens to the characters physically to what happens to the characters emotionally. For this reason, someone looking for an exciting story about a man on death row should not read this book. A Lesson Before Dying is the perfect book for someone interested in reading a beautiful crafted story about the relationship of two men who are perfect complements to each other. Throughout the book, when Jefferson feels hopeless, Grant -whose job is it to educate Jefferson- gives him hope. When Grant is weak Jefferson had strength. This award-winning book is required reading for many schools. Many students, not wanting to read this book, will find it boring. Someone who is genuinely interested in this subject matter will find this book an amazing piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: 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. Overall, I thought the book was very inspiring and well written, but had its drawbacks. The novel is set in the 1940's, where Jefferson and two of his companions, rob a local store. Everybody was killed except Jefferson, the only man who did not fire a single shot. He is subsequently put in jail for no other reason except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is then sentenced to death by the electric chair. His loving aunt, Miss Emma, was humiliated when the juror called Jefferson a hog in public. She hires Grant Wiggins, an educated schoolteacher to help make Jefferson a man, and walk to the chair. Grant and Jefferson work together and following some minor indifferences, Jefferson walked to the chair as a man in the end. The aspect that sets this book apart from others written in a similar manner is that the story did not revolve around Jefferson's trial or his punishment. The author relates the plot in the beginning of the story, which can be a drawback or a bonus, depending on the reader. I liked the way Gaines introduced the entire plot early on, in order to have the reader concentrate on the characters and symbolism immediately rather than later. Also, Gaines brought the characters into the story slowly, unlike most authors. Gaines releases a couple facts about each person when he/she was first introduced. Then, he conveyed more details about them later in the story. In addition to this, Gaines did not reveal any emotional or inner traits about the characters. As an alternative, he let the characters' traits be exposed by their actions. One theme that was predominately heard throughout the novel was "Actions speak louder than words". An example of this was Jefferson's silence as he walked to the chair. While everybody in the room worried about the execution and showed remorse or pity, he did not speak. Paul, the security guard said, "He was the bravest man in the room," and "- I could not bare to look". The book was top notch for the theme of heroism. The story, in my opinion, displayed two heroes, Jefferson and Grant Wiggins. Grant was hero to Jefferson and Jefferson was a hero towards Grant and the society of Bayonne, Louisiana. Grant did what probably no people in that section of town would have done. He talked and gave Jefferson a chance to reform. That touched Jefferson deeply, knowing that some people cared for him. In one of the last journal entries of Jefferson, he emotionally thanked Grant in the little writing that he knew. Jefferson was the main hero in the novel. He set an example for all people to believe in; he showed them to not be afraid. Jefferson at first was afraid to die, but when Grant came to him, and taught him strength, Jefferson conquered his fears. Jefferson portrayed to the town, that although the white government may seem invincible, some things or choices might have a bad effect on them. The reader could see this throughout the book. From when the execution date was set, the officials began to talk less, and not be as harsh as before. The works of Jefferson and Grant touched Ms. Emma, and Grant was so moved by Jefferson that he could not go to the execution. He was crying for Jefferson and himself when Paul told Grant it was done.
The only drawback that I found in the book was it was slow. When one reads the book, a lot of patience is required or they will lose focus. I believe that the story does not have much action or suspense. That is the main focus of most of the stories out in bookstores today, if you are an "action and explosions" individual the book is not for you. On the contrary, what I loved most about the book were the details in the story and the theme of the plot. In other words symbolism was a chief topic in Gaines' novel.
Symbolism is a major part in the understanding of the book. Some of the diminutive details of the story have a lot of importance as the novel progresses. For example, Grant mentions the picture that hangs in the classroom of "The Last Supper"
while in the classroom. This picture compares with Jefferson's last meal before the execution. Another picture in Grant's room portrays Christ knocking on a door; it represents Jefferson knocking on the door of faith and hope. Jefferson cannot be executed on Lent because the town will not allow it. Jefferson is scheduled to die between the hours of noon and three, which was the time of Christ's crucifix. Ernest Gaines writes the novel very realistically. Grant was extremely nervous and angry that he had to go see Jefferson every week. He even said, "What's the use, he will die all the same". He thought the idea of trying to make Jefferson a man was absurd and a waste of time. Gaines portrayed the attitude of Grant well, because a person would not be exactly pleased if he/she had to carry out the act. Vivian was the only person that kept Grant going; if she had not encouraged him so much, I believe he would have quit. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys powerful novels with a lot of hidden meaning inside the text.
Rating:
Summary: National issued and Life Lesson are shown in this book
Review: "A Lesson Before Dying"
Ernest Gaines
When reading the suspenseful book, "A Lesson before Dying" by Ernest Gaines, we felt sorrow not only because Jefferson, the main character was black and uneducated., He was treated unfairly by society because of the color of his skin and for a crime he did not commit. This book intertwined an national issue with a real life scenario. This book takes a black man and puts him in a bad position. He is at the wrong place and at the wrong time. He is then wrongly accused of the murder. He is then later put down many times, but learns how to die with dignity. Also when viewing a movie version of the book, it too portrays a good image of the book. This book would be enjoyed by young adults and older. We thought it was a great way to portray life issues along with national. The book was enjoyable to read and also to learn from.
Rating:
Summary: Some Random Person's Dumb Review
Review: This is not a cheerful book, because it is about racism and someone being injustly excecuted, but for that very reason it is a good book to read (that, and it has nice, short chapters). It shows how bad racism can be and the problems we once had with it (and still have, to some degree). The main character, Grant, feels trapped in a society that still judges people by how dark their skin is. Another character, a white man who works at the jail, shows through his kindness to Grant that he is a good person, resisting society's pressure to conform to its racist ideas.
I suggest that people read it to keep the lesson itself from dying.
Rating:
Summary: Lesson Before Reading
Review: Ernest J. Gaines book A Lesson Before Dying was a good book. It is a great book to relook the issue of racism and how it effects the life of many people. Jefferson was at the seen of the crime, yet he was an innocent bystander who caught a ride from two guys, Brother and Bear, and ended up taking a punishment for somethin he did not do. The prosecuter called him a hog and all he wants is to beacome a man.
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