A Lesson before Dying

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Overview

From the author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman comes a deep and compassionate novel. A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman comes a deep and compassionate novel. A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Two African-American men in rural Louisiana are pulled together by circumstance in this gripping novel. A young teacher who has come back to his hometown to help raise the poor quality of education is reluctantly persuaded by his aunt to counsel a man on death row. Emotionally charged and written in a straightforward, powerful style, Gaines sketches the dramatic moments between teacher and inmate with warmth and insight. Read by Jay Long.

Carl Senna

Despite the novel's gallows humor and an atmosphere of pervasively harsh racism, the characters, black and white, are humanly complex and have some redeeming quality...."A Lesson Before Dying," though it suffers an occasional stylistic lapse, powerfully evokes in its understated tone the "new wants" in the 1940's that created the revolution of the 1960's. Ernest J. Gaines has written a moving and truthful work of fiction. -- New York Times

More Reviews (5) Fewer Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Gaines's NBCC Award-winning novel tells of the relationship forged between a young black man on death row and his teacher in 1940s Louisiana. (June)

Library Journal

What do you tell an innocent youth who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and now faces death in the electric chair? What do you say to restore his self-esteem when his lawyer has publicly described him as a dumb animal? What do you tell a youth humiliated by a lifetime of racism so that he can face death with dignity? The task belongs to Grant Wiggins, the teacher of the Negro plantation school who narrates the story. Grant grew up on the Louisiana plantation but broke away to go to the university. He returns to help his people but struggles over ``whether I should act like the teacher that I was, or like the nigger that I was supposed to be.'' The powerful message Grant tells the youth transforms him from a ``hog'' to a hero, and the reader is not likely to forget it, either. Gaines's earlier works include A Gathering of Old Men ( LJ 9/83) and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (Bantam, 1982). BOMC and Quality Paperback Book Club alternate selections; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/92.-- Joanne Snapp, Randolph-Macon Coll . , Ashland, Va.

School Library Journal

YA-- No breathless courtroom triumphs or dramatic reprieves alleviate the sad progress toward execution in this latest novel by the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (Bantam, 1982). The condemned man is Jefferson, a poorly educated man/child whose only crimes are a dim intelligence, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and being black in rural Louisiana in the late 1940s. To everyone, even his own defense attorney, he's an animal, too dumb to understand what is happening to him. But his godmother, Miss Emma, decides that Jefferson will die a man. To accomplish just that, she brings Grant Wiggins, the teacher at the plantation's one-room school and narrator of the novel, into the story. Emotionally blackmailed by two strong-willed old ladies, Grant reluctantly begins visiting Jefferson, committing both men to the painful task of self-discovery. As in his earlier novels, Gaines evokes a sense of reality through rich detail and believable characters in this simple, moving story. YAs who seek thought-provoking reading will enjoy this glimpse of life in the rural South just before the civil rights movement.-- Carolyn E. Gecan, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA

Sacred Fire

A Lesson Before Dying is a coming-of-age story set in a small Louisiana town in the late 1940s. Jefferson, a young black man involved in a shoot-out during a robbery, is convicted of murder and sentenced to the electric chair. Says the defending attorney to the jury, "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."

Grant Wiggins, the hope of the community, has returned to teach school after having left for a university education. He fights internal demons, his aunt, and his guilt-ridden sense of community in deciding whether to escape the small town (and the small- town mentality) or to stay. He receives a visit from his aunt, Jefferson's godmother. With the pain of history on her face, the godmother spoke. "Called him a hog... I don't want them to kill no hog," she said. "I want a man to go to that chair, on his own two feet." Grant's mandate was to instill in Jefferson a firm sense of self in the short time prior to his execution—a Herculean task, in that Grant had yet to come to terms with his own expectations of himself. In the end, and through their interaction, the two men come to realizations that allow each of them to successfully meet their demons.

In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines personifies the angst of expectation that comes with being the first of a generation to succeed, the resolute power of community, and the importance of reciprocity—giving back to that which nurtured us.

Kirkus Reviews

Two black men (one a teacher, the other a death row inmate) struggle to live, and die, with dignity, in Gaines's most powerful and moving work since The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1971). The year is 1948. Harry Truman may have integrated the Armed Forces, but down in the small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, where the blacks still shuffle submissively for their white masters, little has changed since slavery. When a white liquor- store owner is killed during a robbery attempt, along with his two black assailants, the innocent black bystander Jefferson gets death, despite the defense plea that "I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." Hog. The word lingers like a foul odor and weighs as heavily as the sentence on Jefferson and the woman who raised him, his "nannan" (godmother) Miss Emma. She needs an image of Jefferson going to his death like a man, and she turns to the young teacher at the plantation school for help. Meanwhile, Grant Wiggins (the narrator) has his own problems. He loves his people but hates himself for teaching on the white man's terms; visiting Jefferson in jail will just mean more kowtowing, so he goes along reluctantly, prodded by his strong-willed Tante Lou and his girlfriend Vivian. The first visits are a disaster: Jefferson refuses to speak and will not eat his nannan's cooking, which breaks the old lady's heart. But eventually Grant gets through to him ("a hero does for others"); Jefferson eats Miss Emma's gumbo and astonishes himself by writing whole pages in a diary—a miracle, water from the rock. When he walks to the chair, he is the strongest man in the courthouse. By containing unbearably painful emotions withinsimple declarative sentences and everyday speech rhythms, Gaines has written a novel that is not only never maudlin, but approaches the spare beauty of a classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780375702709
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date: 9/28/1997
Edition number: 1
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 814
Lexile: 0750L (what's this?)
Series: Vintage Contemporaries Series
Product dimensions: 7.98 (w) x 5.32 (h) x 0.58 (d)

Meet the Author

Ernest J. Gaines was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, near New Roads, Louisiana, which is the Bayonne of all his fictional works. His previous books include A Gathering of Old Men, In My Father's House, A Long Day in November, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Bloodline, Of Love and Dust, and Catherine Carmier. He divides his time between San Francisco and the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, where he is writer-in-residence.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Read an Excerpt

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. Still, I was there. I was there as much as anyone else was there. Either I sat behind my aunt and his godmother or I sat beside them. Both are large women, but his godmother is larger. She is of average height, five four, five five, but weighs nearly two hundred pounds. Once she and my aunt had found their places—two rows behind the table where he sat with his court-appointed attorney—his godmother became as immobile as a great stone or as one of our oak or cypress stumps. She never got up once to get water or go to the bathroom down in the basement. She just sat there staring at the boy's clean-cropped head where he sat at the front table with his lawyer. Even after he had gone to await the jurors' verdict, her eyes remained in that one direction. She heard nothing said in the courtroom. Not by the prosecutor, not by the defense attorney, not by my aunt. (Oh, yes, she did hear one word—one word, for sure: "hog.") It was my aunt whose eyes followed the prosecutor as he moved from one side of the courtroom to the other, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand, pounding the table where his papers lay, pounding the rail that separated the jurors from the rest of the courtroom. It was my aunt who followed his every move, not his godmother. She was not even listening. She had gotten tired of listening, She knew, as we all knew, what the outcome would be. A white man had been killed during a robbery, and though two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die. Though he toldthem no, he had nothing to do with it, that he was on his way to the White Rabbit Bar and Lounge when Brother and Bear drove up beside him and offered him a ride. After he got into the car, they asked him if he had any money. When he told them he didn't have a solitary dime, it was then that Brother and Bear started talking credit, saying that old Gropé should not mind crediting them a pint since he knew them well, and he knew that the grinding season was coming soon, and they would be able to pay him back then.

The store was empty, except for the old storekeeper, Alcee Gropé, who sat on a stool behind the counter. He spoke first. He asked Jefferson about his godmother. Jefferson told him his nannan was all right. Old Gropé nodded his head. "You tell her for me I say hello," he told Jefferson. He looked at Brother and Bear. But he didn't like them. He didn't trust them. Jefferson could see that in his face. "Do for you boys?" he asked. "A bottle of that Apple White, there, Mr. Gropé" Bear said. Old Gropé got the bottle off the shelf, but he did not set it on the counter. He could see that the boys had already been drinking, and he became suspicious. "You boys got money?" he asked. Brother and Bear spread out all the money they had in their pockets on top of the counter. Old Gropé counted it with his eyes. "That's not enough," he said. "Come on, now, Mr. Gropé," they pleaded with him. "You know you go'n get your money soon as grinding start." "No," he said. "Money is slack everywhere. You bring the money, you get your wine." He turned to put the bottle back on the shelf. One of the boys, the one called Bear, started around the counter."You, stop there," Gropé told him. "Go back." Bear had been drinking, and his eyes were glossy, he walked unsteadily, grinning all the time as he continued around the counter. "Go back," Gropé told him. "I mean, the last time now—go back." Bear continued. Gropé moved quickly toward the cash register, where he withdrew a revolver and started shooting. Soon there was shooting from another direction. When it was quiet again, Bear, Gropé, and Brother were all down on the floor, and only Jefferson was standing.

He wanted to run, but he couldn't run. He couldn't even think. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he had gotten there. He couldn't remember ever getting into the car. He couldn't remember a thing he had done all day.

He heard a voice calling. He thought the voice was coming from the liquor shelves. Then he realized that old Gropé was not dead, and that it was he who was calling. He made himself go to the end of the counter. He had to look across Bear to see the storekeeper. Both lay between the counter and the shelves of alcohol. Several bottles had broken, and alcohol and blood covered their bodies as well as the floor. He stood there gaping at the old man slumped against the bottom shelf of gallons and half gallons of wine. He didn't know whether he should go to him or whether he should run out of there. The old man continued to call: "Boy? Boy? Boy?" Jefferson became frightened. The old man was still alive. He had seen him. He would tell on him. Now he started babbling. "It wasn't me. It wasn't me, Mr. Gropé. It was Brother and Bear. Brother shot you. It wasn't me. They made me come with them. You got to tell the law that, Mr. Gropé. You hear me Mr. Gropé?"

But he was talking to a dead man.

Still he did not run. He didn't know what to do. He didn't believe that this had happened. Again he couldn't remember how he had gotten there. He didn't know whether he had come there with Brother and Bear, or whether he had walked in and seen all this after it happened.

He looked from one dead body to the other. He didn't know whether he should call someone on the telephone or run. He had never dialed a telephone in his life, but he had seen other people use them. He didn't know what to do. He was standing by the liquor shelf, and suddenly he realized he needed a drink and needed it badly. He snatched a bottle off the shelf, wrung off the cap, and turned up the bottle, all in one continuous motion. The whiskey burned him like fire—his chest, his belly, even his nostrils. His eyes watered; he shook his head to clear his mind. Now he began to realize where he was. Now he began to realize fully what had happened. Now he knew he had to get out of there. He turned. He saw the money in the cash register, under the little wire clamps. He knew taking money was wrong. His nannan had told him never to steal. He didn't want to steal. But he didn't have a solitary dime in his pocket. And nobody was around, so who could say he stole it? Surely not one of the dead men.

He was halfway across the room, the money stuffed inside his jacket pocket, the half bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand, when two white men walked into the store.

That was his story.

The prosecutor's story was different. The prosecutor argued that Jefferson and the other two had gone there with the full intention of robbing the old man and killing him so that he could not identify them. When the old man and the other two robbers were all dead, this one—it proved the kind of animal he really was—stuffed the money into his pockets and celebrated the event by drinking over their still-bleeding bodies.

The defense argued that Jefferson was innocent of all charges except being at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was absolutely no proof that there had been a conspiracy between himself and the other two. The fact that Mr. Gropé shot only Brother and Bear was proof of Jefferson's innocence. Why did Mr. Gropé shoot one boy twice and never shoot at Jefferson once? Because Jefferson was merely an innocent bystander. He took the whiskey to calm his nerves, not to celebrate. He took the money out of hunger and plain stupidity.

"Gentlemen of the jury, look at this—this—this boy. I almost said man, but I can't say man. Oh, sure, he has reached the age of twenty-one, when we, civilized men, consider the male species has reached manhood, but would you call this—this—this a man? No, not I. I would call it a boy and a fool. A fool is not aware of right and wrong. A fool does what others tell him to do. A fool got into that automobile. A man with a modicum of intelligence would have seen that those racketeers meant no good. But not a fool. A fool got into that automobile. A fool rode to the grocery store. A fool stood by and watched this happen, not having the sense to run.

"Gentlemen of the jury, look at him—look at him—look that this. Do you see a man sitting here? I ask you, I implore, look carefully—do you see a man sitting here? Look at the shape of this skull, this face as flat as the palm of my hand—look deeply into those eyes. Do you see a modicum of intelligence? Do you see anyone here who could plan a murder, a robbery, can plan—can plan—can plan anything? A cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa—yes, yes, that he can do—but to plan? To plan, gentlemen of the jury? No, gentlemen, this skull here holds no plans. What you see here is a thing that acts on command. A thing to hold the handle of a plow, a thing to load your bales of cotton, a thing to dig your ditches, to chop your wood, to pull your corn. That is what you see here, but you do not see anything capable of planning a robbery or a murder. He does not even know the size of his clothes or his shoes. Ask him to name the months of the year. Ask him does Christmas come before or after the Fourth of July? Mention the names of Keats, Byron, Scott, and see whether the eyes will show one moment of recognition. Ask him to describe a rose, to quote one passage from the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Gentlemen of the jury, this man planned a robbery? Oh, pardon me, pardon me, I surely did not mean to insult your intelligence by saying 'man'—would you please forgive me for committing such an error?

"Gentlemen of the jury, who would be hurt if you took this life? Look back to that second row. Please look. I want all twelve of you honorable men to turn your heads and look back to that second row. What you see there has been everything to him—mama, grandmother, godmother—everything. Look at her, gentlemen of the jury, look at her well. Take this away from her, and she has no reason to go on living. We may see him as not much, but he's her reason for existence. Think on that, gentlemen, think on it.

"Gentlemen of the jury, be merciful. For God's sake, be merciful. He is innocent of all charges brought against him.

"But let us say he was not. Let us for a moment say he was not. 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.

"I thank you, gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart, for your kind patience. I have no more to say, except this: We must live with our own conscience. Each and every one of us must live with his own conscience."

The jury retired, and it returned a verdict after lunch: guilty of robbery and murder in the first degree. The judge commended the twelve white men for reaching a quick and just verdict. This was Friday. He would pass sentence on Monday.

Ten o'clock on Monday, Miss Emma and my aunt sat in the same seats they had occupied on Friday. Reverend Mose Ambrose, the pastor of their church, was with them., He and my aunt sat on either side of Miss Emma. The judge, a short, red-faced man with snow-white hair and thick black eyebrows, asked Jefferson if he had anything to say before the sentencing. My aunt said that Jefferson was looking down at the floor and shook his head. The judge told Jefferson that he had been found guilty of the charges brought against him, and that the judge saw no reason that he should not pay for the part he played in this horrible crime.

Death by electrocution. The governor would set the date.

From the Audio Cassette (Unabridged) edition.

Copyright 1997 by Ernest J. Gaines

First Chapter

CHAPTER ONE

The store was empty, except for the old storekeeper, Alcee Gropé, who sat on a stool behind the counter. He spoke first. He asked Jefferson about his godmother. Jefferson told him his nannan was all right. Old Gropé nodded his head. "You tell her for me I say hello," he told Jefferson. He looked at Brother and Bear. But he didn't like them. He didn't trust them. Jefferson could see that in his face. "Do for you boys?" he asked. "A bottle of that Apple White, there, Mr. Gropé," Bear said. Old Gropé got the bottle off the shelf, but he did not set it on the counter. He could see that the boys had already been drinking, and he became suspicious. "You boys got money?" he asked. Brother and Bear spread out all the money they had in their pockets on top of the counter. Old Gropé counted it with his eyes. "That's not enough," he said. "Come on, now, Mr. Gropé," they pleaded with him. "You know you go'n get your money soon as grinding start." "No," he said. "Money is slack everywhere. You bring the money, you get your wine." He turned to put the bottle back on the shelf. One of the boys, the one called Bear, started around the counter."You, stop there," Gropé told him. "Go back." Bear had been drinking, and his eyes were glossy, he walked unsteadily, grinning all the time as he continued around the counter. "Go back," Gropé told him. "I mean, the last time now--go back." Bear continued. Gropé moved quickly toward the cash register, where he withdrew a revolver and started shooting. Soon there was shooting from another direction. When it was quiet again, Bear, Gropé, and Brother were all down on the floor, and only Jefferson was standing.

He wanted to run, but he couldn't run. He couldn't even think. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he had gotten there. He couldn't remember ever getting into the car. He couldn't remember a thing he had done all day.

He heard a voice calling. He thought the voice was coming from the liquor shelves. Then he realized that old Gropé was not dead, and that it was he who was calling. He made himself go to the end of the counter. He had to look across Bear to see the storekeeper. Both lay between the counter and the shelves of alcohol. Several bottles had broken, and alcohol and blood covered their bodies as well as the floor. He stood there gaping at the old man slumped against the bottom shelf of gallons and half gallons of wine. He didn't know whether he should go to him or whether he should run out of there. The old man continued to call: "Boy? Boy? Boy?" Jefferson became frightened. The old man was still alive. He had seen him. He would tell on him. Now he started babbling. "It wasn't me. It wasn't me, Mr. Gropé. It was Brother and Bear. Brother shot you. It wasn't me. They made me come with them. You got to tell the law that, Mr. Gropé. You hear me Mr. Gropé?"

But he was talking to a dead man.

Still he did not run. He didn't know what to do. He didn't believe that this had happened. Again he couldn't remember how he had gotten there. He didn't know whether he had come there with Brother and Bear, or whether he had walked in and seen all this after it happened.

He looked from one dead body to the other. He didn't know whether he should call someone on the telephone or run. He had never dialed a telephone in his life, but he had seen other people use them. He didn't know what to do. He was standing by the liquor shelf, and suddenly he realized he needed a drink and needed it badly. He snatched a bottle off the shelf, wrung off the cap, and turned up the bottle, all in one continuous motion. The whiskey burned him like fire--his chest, his belly, even his nostrils. His eyes watered; he shook his head to clear his mind. Now he began to realize where he was. Now he began to realize fully what had happened. Now he knew he had to get out of there. He turned. He saw the money in the cash register, under the little wire clamps. He knew taking money was wrong. His nannan had told him never to steal. He didn't want to steal. But he didn't have a solitary dime in his pocket. And nobody was around, so who could say he stole it? Surely not one of the dead men.

He was halfway across the room, the money stuffed inside his jacket pocket, the half bottle of whiskey clutched in his hand, when two white men walked into the store.

That was his story.

The prosecutor's story was different. The prosecutor argued that Jefferson and the other two had gone there with the full intention of robbing the old man and killing him so that he could not identify them. When the old man and the other two robbers were all dead, this one--it proved the kind of animal he really was--stuffed the money into his pockets and celebrated the event by drinking over their still-bleeding bodies.

The defense argued that Jefferson was innocent of all charges except being at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was absolutely no proof that there had been a conspiracy between himself and the other two. The fact that Mr. Gropé shot only Brother and Bear was proof of Jefferson's innocence. Why did Mr. Gropé shoot one boy twice and never shoot at Jefferson once? Because Jefferson was merely an innocent bystander. He took the whiskey to calm his nerves, not to celebrate. He took the money out of hunger and plain stupidity.

"Gentlemen of the jury, look at this--this--this boy. I almost said man, but I can't say man. Oh, sure, he has reached the age of twenty-one, when we, civilized men, consider the male species has reached manhood, but would you call this--this--this a man? No, not I. I would call it a boy and a fool. A fool is not aware of right and wrong. A fool does what others tell him to do. A fool got into that automobile. A man with a modicum of intelligence would have seen that those racketeers meant no good. But not a fool. A fool got into that automobile. A fool rode to the grocery store. A fool stood by and watched this happen, not having the sense to run.

"Gentlemen of the jury, look at him--look at him--look that this. Do you see a man sitting here? I ask you, I implore, look carefully--do you see a man sitting here? Look at the shape of this skull, this face as flat as the palm of my hand--look deeply into those eyes. Do you see a modicum of intelligence? Do you see anyone here who could plan a murder, a robbery, can plan--can plan--can plan anything? A cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa--yes, yes, that he can do--but to plan? To plan, gentlemen of the jury? No, gentlemen, this skull here holds no plans. What you see here is a thing that acts on command. A thing to hold the handle of a plow, a thing to load your bales of cotton, a thing to dig your ditches, to chop your wood, to pull your corn. That is what you see here, but you do not see anything capable of planning a robbery or a murder. He does not even know the size of his clothes or his shoes. Ask him to name the months of the year. Ask him does Christmas come before or after the Fourth of July? Mention the names of Keats, Byron, Scott, and see whether the eyes will show one moment of recognition. Ask him to describe a rose, to quote one passage from the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Gentlemen of the jury, this man planned a robbery? Oh, pardon me, pardon me, I surely did not mean to insult your intelligence by saying 'man'--would you please forgive me for committing such an error?

"Gentlemen of the jury, who would be hurt if you took this life? Look back to that second row. Please look. I want all twelve of you honorable men to turn your heads and look back to that second row. What you see there has been everything to him--mama, grandmother, godmother--everything. Look at her, gentlemen of the jury, look at her well. Take this away from her, and she has no reason to go on living. We may see him as not much, but he's her reason for existence. Think on that, gentlemen, think on it.

"Gentlemen of the jury, be merciful. For God's sake, be merciful. He is innocent of all charges brought against him.

"But let us say he was not. Let us for a moment say he was not. 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.

"I thank you, gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart, for your kind patience. I have no more to say, except this: We must live with our own conscience. Each and every one of us must live with his own conscience."

The jury retired, and it returned a verdict after lunch: guilty of robbery and murder in the first degree. The judge commended the twelve white men for reaching a quick and just verdict. This was Friday. He would pass sentence on Monday.

Ten o'clock on Monday, Miss Emma and my aunt sat in the same seats they had occupied on Friday. Reverend Mose Ambrose, the pastor of their church, was with them., He and my aunt sat on either side of Miss Emma. The judge, a short, red-faced man with snow-white hair and thick black eyebrows, asked Jefferson if he had anything to say before the sentencing. My aunt said that Jefferson was looking down at the floor and shook his head. The judge told Jefferson that he had been found guilty of the charges brought against him, and that the judge saw no reason that he should not pay for the part he played in this horrible crime.

Death by electrocution. The governor would set the date.

Reading Group Guide

1. All the characters in A Lesson Before Dying are motivated by a single word: "hog." Jefferson's attorney has compared him to a hog; Miss Emma wants Grant to prove that her godson is not a hog; and Jefferson at first eats the food she has sent him on his knees, because "that's how a old hog eat." How are words used both to humiliate and to redeem the characters in this novel?

2. . Grant's task is to affirm that Jefferson is not a hog, but a man. The mission is doubly difficult because Grant isn't sure he knows what a man is. What definition of manhood, or humanity, does A Lesson Before Dying provide? Why is manhood a subversive notion within the book's milieu?

3. At various points in the book Gaines draws analogies between Jefferson and Jesus. One of the first questions Jefferson asks his tutor concerns the significance of Christmas: "That's when He was born, or that's when he died?" Jefferson is executed eight days after Easter. In what other ways is this parallel developed? In particular, discuss the scriptural connotations of the word "lesson."

4. For all the book's religious symbolism, the central character is a man without faith. Grant's refusal to attend church has deeply hurt his aunt and antagonized Reverend Ambrose, whose religion Grant at first dismisses as a sham. Yet at the book's climax he admits that Ambrose "is braver than I, " and he has his pupils pray in the hours before Jefferson's death. What kind of faith does Grant acquire in the course of this book? Why does the Reverend emerge as the stronger of the two men?

5. One of the novel's paradoxes is that Ambrose's faith--which Grant rejectsbecause it is also the white man's--enables him to stand up against the white man's "justice." How do we resolve this paradox? How has faith served African-Americans as a source of personal empowerment and an axis of communal resistance?

6. Grant believes that black men in Louisiana have only three choices: to die violently, to be "brought down to the level of beasts, " or "to run and run." How does the way in which Gaines articulates these grim choices--and suggests an alternative to them--make A Lesson Before Dying applicable not only to Louisiana in 1948 but to the United States in the 1990s?

7. Women play a significant role in the book. Examine the scenes between Grant and Tante Lou, Grant and Vivian, and Jefferson and Miss Emma, and discuss the impetus that Gaines's women provide his male characters. In what ways do these interactions reflect the roles of black women within their families and in African-American society?

8. A Lesson Before Dying is concerned with obligation and commitment. Discuss this theme as it emerges in the exchanges between Emma Glenn and the Pichots, Grant and Vivian, and Grant and the Reverend Ambrose. What are the debts these people owe each other? In what ways do they variously try to honor, evade, or exploit them?

9. Like Faulkner and Joyce, Gaines has been acclaimed for his evocation of place. In A Lesson Before Dying his accomplishment is all the more impressive because of the book's brevity. What details in this book evoke its setting, and what is the relation between its setting and its themes?

10. From the manslaughter that begins this novel to the judicial murder at its close, death is a constant presence in A Lesson Before Dying. We are repeatedly reminded of all the untimely, violent deaths that have preceded Jefferson's and, in all likelihood, will follow it. Why then is Jefferson's death so disturbing to this book's black characters, and even to some of its white ones? What does Jefferson's death accomplish that his life could not?

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Anonymous

Posted October 29, 2008

I Also Recommend:

A SURPRISINGLY GOOD BOOK.

A Lesson Before Dying is a book about a mentally retarded man, Jefferson. Jefferson is wrongly convicted of a murder. He is called a 'hog' during his trail. His aunt, Miss Emma, wants him to become a man before he dies. Miss Emma asked the community's teacher, Grant, to make her son a man before his execution.
Grant is left with an enormous task when he reluctantly agreed. Grant has to break down the barriers surrounding Jefferson, who refuses to eat and talk to his visitors, but in the end, two complete opposite people become the best of friends.
I really enjoyed this book. It has a moving plot that makes you think about the life you are living. At times in the middle of the book it got a little tedious waiting for the end, but it picked up speed again toward the end of the story.
This book is a historical fiction book set in the 1940's while whites still had the upper hand. This book is for advanced young adults readers and older.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Fully

Posted April 17, 2011

I've read this book over a sixty times

This is a modern day classic. I've read and taught this book since 1998. I never get tired of the story and I constantly find new facets of the book that I am just now seeing. From the Christ figure of Jefferson to Grant's ambiguous atheism, Gaines takes an interesting look at the problems of faith for black men in the 1940's Deep South. Also, Grant's journey to manhood parallels Jefferson's. Could either of them have done it without the other? Their are other themes present as well: Human dignity, Community Responsibility, Running away from one's problems,and Universality are some of them. I've found that I learn something from this book every single time I read it with my classes. The humanity of Jefferson's diary always moves my students. Even though Jefferson isn't an educated, or even a smart man, he is still a man deserving of dignity and decency and justice. While seeming to be a rather dark subject, A Lesson Before Dying is an uplifting story of hope and redemption. I can't imagine not having this book in my classroom.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Duker79

Posted December 30, 2010

more from this reviewer

Brilliant! Worth reading a second time!

This was a great book I really enjoyed this book it was an easy read and I could not put it down once I started! I originally picked this book up because I read the first chapter on an online review page and on this website you are limited to one chapter so after I had read the first chapter I was hooked on the book I tried to get the book as soon as possible so I could read it. I loved this book so much that I would be willing to read this book a second time and I have never considered reading a book twice that is how much I loved this book. Throughout the book Jefferson displays the theme of redemption in death. At the end of the novel Jefferson redeems himself in front of his community because he defies his society that tells him that he is a hog but instead of acting like the hog that everyone says he is he makes his community proud by standing strong at the execution being the "strongest man in the room." This novel is a heart wrenching book that made me feel for Grant Wiggins, Jefferson and Jefferson's friends and family and at points made me wanted to cry. The only thing I did not like about this book was that it went into extreme detail for instance the author would explain what the characters were eating and it said things that were not important sometimes, but other than that Ernest J. Gaines is a brilliant author. This book should be considered a classic literature but I do not think that it should be taught in high schools just because it had some bad parts and some not so good language it is definitely considered a young adult book it has some mature themes in it. One of the many things that I liked about this book is how much smarter Jefferson is than everyone gives him credit for. One thing that I like about the main character Grant Wiggins is that he never calls himself a teacher but in the end he teaches a "hog" to be a man and is a very smart man. One thing that I would change about this book is just not putting in every detail about Grant Wiggins and Vivian's relationship because I did not see how it tied into the story. This book reminds me of the movie The Green Mile. The Green Mile is about a guard who works in the jail for the people that are going to be executed. Tom Hanks plays a character that feels bad for a jailer that is to be soon executed. This movie reminds me of this book because there is a guard in there named Paul and he is emotionally compensated about the execution of Jefferson. This book has been a truly inspiring book it has taught me many life lessons for instance choose wisely on the people you hang out with it might cost your life.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 4, 2012

good meaning, poorly written

This novel had good potential, but it was very dry and boring. The middle of the novel is very repetitive; the same thing happens over and over again. It was very difficult to like the characters, Grant is very whiney and Jefferson shows no emotion. Grant shows little compassion toward Jefferson and seems agitated when he is asked to help him by Jefferson's elderly godmother. The beginning and ending of the novel were pretty good, but all the pages in between showed no development or contribution to the plot. The characters remained flat and they were very predictable. Jefferson's Diary at the end was a horrible reading experience. It is understood that he was not educated properly as a child back in the 1940s, and life was VERY hard for him, but not many readers want to sit around and waste their time reading a whole chapter of "...i done eat my rice an beans an i done had my cup of milk an the sun comin in the windo cause i can see it splashin in the flo..." (Gaines 226). Also, the theme of the novel was apparent from the first page, which was racism. This theme dominated the novel to the highest extent, and it made the whole plot very predictable. The only positive point about this novel is its message. It shows the hardships people endured in a racist world and how they dealt with it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 4, 2012

Good

This book ws very good and i would recommend this to anyone that loves the type of old shool books with colored and white people and i believe that you would really be able to get into this book
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Jacob-Larsen

Posted March 2, 2012

For all who haven’t read this book, I would definitely sug

For all who haven’t read this book, I would definitely suggest reading it in the near future. It isn’t the most exciting and exhilarating book ever written, but over all there is a good message that comes out of reading it.
The story is about a black man named Jefferson who is accused of robbing and murdering a white liquor store owner. Hoping for Jefferson’s innocence the jury finds Jefferson guilty and puts him in jail until the date is set for his execution. Jefferson takes the snide comment from the defense attorney about him being a “dumb hog” to heart and no longer thinks of himself as human. After finding out that her godson was sent to jail and sentenced to electrocution, Miss Emma, Jefferson’s godmother, is determined to make Jefferson think he is human again and for him to regain his self respect.
In order to do this she asks a local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in jail until he comes around again. After several visits, Jefferson, as well as Grant who has also been having some struggles in his life, finally begins to regain his self respect and knowledge of the importance of life. Grant realizes that his life might not be as bad off as he thought since he isn’t the one stuck in jail about to die. This recollection builds up Grant’s hope and faith that he is able to make a difference in Jefferson’s life. The big question is whether or not Jefferson realizes the importance of life and if he will walk with his head held high on the day of his execution.
Overall, the book was very inspirational and made you value the importance of life. Some people in the world have a lot more trials and struggles in their life than others. We need to all realize that even if there is a time when we are struggling, we probably aren’t as bad off as a lot of people. The book was very well written and made you reflect on how you are living your life. The only weakness that I saw personally in the book was that it was a little slow. It was easy reading, but many of the same things kept happening over and over. The whole book was based in the same location which made me loose a little interest. These weaknesses however are small and shouldn’t stop you from reading this inspirational novel.

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ChocolateBookworm

Posted July 8, 2011

Great Read!

I just so happen to be reading this book at the same time as the Casey Anthony trial. And I tell you I found this book compelling. It had me thinking of how many innocent people were put in chairs like that all over this country. But a mother who admitted that she knew her child drowned and didn't report it could just go free angered me.
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The_Diabetic

Posted March 23, 2011

I don't recommend it if you fall asleep easily.

This book was well written and the charaters are very disteinct and "interesting". But this books is a sob story from beginning to end and it has a very anti-climatic ending I suggest if you are looking for a happy ending you won't find it here.
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SR71

Posted March 23, 2011

YOYOYOYOY CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!!!

I thought it was a splended book. i would not recomend it for people looking for a thrill. But i would for people who likes a good plot and a story line. Glourious
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Cheat_Activated

Posted March 23, 2011

Not Recommended

A couple positives i see in this book is that it has lots of hooks in the story you wouldnt expect. Another positive would be about the characters in the story are very unique. A couple negatives in this story is that it is a narrative story and not a fictional story. But another negative is that the story lengthens and has some information that i didnt find needed for the story making the book a lot longer.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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dasjooden

Posted March 23, 2011

Alright

It was an ok book, it was very slow at some parts. Some parts made the book seem boring and not worth reading, but in the end it turned out to be an ok book. The positive of it are that it has an iteresting story, and the negative is that it is boring. The characters got me confused at parts, but vivd ones made sense at fit well int the story. It is based only in a small town so there is'nt alot of action or story to tell.
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Booklover21TP

Posted December 28, 2010

Not For Sensitive People

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines was a pretty good book. As I was reading it however, I would have to force myself to read. It wasn't until it was near the end when Jefferson starts talking to Grant Wiggins, that I started to like it and want to read. At the beginning, and not until the middle, did I finally get who was who. Grant is the main character, while Tante Lou is Grant's aunt, and Miss Emma is Jefferson's godmother, with no relation to Grant. I often found that whenever Grant was with Vivian, his girlfriend, they would be drinking, swearing, and/or talking about sex related topics. Something I wish the author would have kept out. I understand that the setting was in the 1800s, 1900s, when African-Americans were still treated as lower folk. It seemed to drag on in some places. I would always find myself wishing that Grant would end his school, and go talk to Jefferson. Those points where my favorites, and the only things keeping me from dropping the book. Whenever Miss Emma or Tante Lou would talk to Grant about seeing Jefferson in the beginning, I could see why Grant would want to run away from them. They would always complain. At most points in the 256 page book, I would get bored and only read a couple of pages. Other points I would read several chapters it got so interesting. During the end, I could not put the book down for the last five chapters. The date for Jefferson's death was set, Grant was running out of time, the Reverend was getting upset over how Grant would buy a radio, or a "sin-box," and Miss Emma was getting worse and worse in her health. Once you hit a chapter dedicated to "Jefferson's Diary", chapter 29, is the part where more sensitive people would cry. Jefferson talks about what runs through his head his last couple of days before his execution. It gets a little gruesome when they start to talk about what the chair looks like, and what it does, and how they have to prepare Jefferson. Several lines in the last few chapters struck me. Jefferson talks about how humans walk on two feet, hogs on four. Many people witnessed, all having someone to lean on while this happened, and Paul, the news deliver and a worker at the police station, said how he walked straight and had no one to lean on, he was the strongest out of them all. The last thing that Grant, the man that made the hog into a man, had to remember Jefferson by, was the small notebook Grant gave him to write in. In the notebook are notes of what he was thinking, what he wants, his night-terrors, and his last goodbyes. Not all of the words are spelled right so you have to be open a little, and say a few words out loud, to get what Jefferson was trying to write. Overall? I would say the book was pretty good, if not long and boring in some places, but very well written in many places, even if it was when Grant was drunk when he said it.
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Anonymous

Posted December 13, 2010

VERY very good

If you get the chance, read this book. It can come off overly preachy at times, but on the whole is too touching to ignore. It's emotional, with highs and lows I never anticipated; this book left me exhausted, but in as positive a way as one can be exhausted. Pick it up, read it, and see how it makes you feel, because that's one thing this book will definitely make you do: feel.
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Anonymous

Posted November 1, 2010

A Lesson Before Dying

A Lesson Before Dying by, Ernest Gaines is a well written book, even though I didn't exactly enjoy it. The story is great I just didn't relate to it, and I couldn't seem to get into it very well. It tells the story of a young black man, Grant Wiggins, who has to try to help save the soul of a man, Jefferson, who was arrested for basically being in the wrong place at the right time. Jefferson has to learn what it takes to become a real man; a man who is brave and can stand face to face with death and not be scared. Grant helps Jefferson accomplish this. Grant does this out of love for his aunt even though he really does not want to do it. This is one thing I could relate to, in life everyone at one point or another does something for someone even if they are not real big on the idea. They do it because they care for the person who wants them to do it.
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Anonymous

Posted October 28, 2010

Do no go here!!

This is the story of two young black men who are very different but both face the same issues of racism in the times before The Great Depression. Grant Wiggins is a young teacher who is in love with a married woman. He believes that the only way to escape racism is to leave the town of Lousiana where he grew up but has very bitter memories of. He keeps trying to convince Vivian to run away with him. She however reminds him of his responsiblities to Jeffersen.

I did not like this book, because it was hard to get into, and understand. For a high reading level high school student, it was very confusing. There is a excellent message, but many kids my age wont catch it. I would suggest this book to adults, or mature high schoolers. It is a good story, it is just one of those books where you have to stick with it and re-read alot.
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P_SHEL

Posted August 24, 2010

I Also Recommend:

This is a must have book

This is one of the best stories I have ever read. It is visual, vocal, and inspiring. The daily struggle of the narrator is very visiual in the way he views his life, God, and the responsibilities that are thrust upon him. Jefferson who is sentenced to die in the electric chair is vocal in his actions and writting. We all know that life is not fair but this is the tip of the pin. I cried at the end ( I never cry over books or movies). I have set a course to read all of Gaines' books. So far I have not been dissappointed. Neither will you
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momoftwinsMM

Posted June 3, 2010

more from this reviewer

I Also Recommend:

Beautiful tale

Injustice and Hope leap off of the pages of this dramatic and touching story of a teacher who, at his aunt's request, attempts to teach a young inmate that he is a man.

The story is simply written, but emotions leap off of the page. Characters are developed well and the tale is rife with racism, injustice, the kindness of man and hope.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys well written works of fiction that teach us about ourselves.
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lily-magnolia

Posted April 29, 2010

"A Lesson" can teach a lesson!

This is a moving story about how one mans actions changed a community. When jefferson is sentenced to death, his own lawyer called him a pig...not even a man. So Jefferson aunt enlists the help of the local teacher to help jefferson turn into a man befor dying.
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BillCA

Posted February 17, 2010

A must read classic

The book was purchased as required school reading for my 14 year old son. I decided to review the book and after reading just a few pages couldn't put it down. Truly a classic of life in the old south, the way it really was. Ernest Gaines writes of a bygone area with a story filled with captivating characters. A very moving story.
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ILuv2ReadKB

Posted April 14, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Read it in a Day

I really enjoyed this book. The writing style was great for the time period and location.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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A SURPRISINGLY GOOD BOOK.

I've read this book over a sixty times

Brilliant! Worth reading a second time!

good meaning, poorly written

Good

For all who haven’t read this book, I would definitely sug

Great Read!

I don't recommend it if you fall asleep easily.

YOYOYOYOY CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!!!

Not Recommended

Alright

Not For Sensitive People

VERY very good

A Lesson Before Dying

Do no go here!!

This is a must have book

Beautiful tale

"A Lesson" can teach a lesson!

A must read classic

Read it in a Day