A Lesson Before Dying
by Ernest J. Gaines
A Lesson Before Dying
by
Ernest J. Gaines
|
|
| published
|
1994
by Vintage/Knopf
|
| first published
| 1993 |
| isbn
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|
| pages
| 256 |
| characters
|
Grant,
Jefferson,
Tante Lou,
Miss Emma,
many more
|
| setting
| United States |
| description
|
A young black teacher in the Deep South is ordered by his aunt to make a man of a youth sentenced to die in the electric chair.
[close]
A young black teacher in the Deep South is ordered by his aunt to make a man of a youth sentenced to die in the electric chair.
[close]
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| date added
|
01-04-08
|
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Teens, Adults
Grant Wiggins resides in Bayonne, Louisiana where he teaches at the local plantation school. Grant is one of the first members of his family to attend college. He is very driven and strives for success. He is the protagonist of the novel.
At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Jefferson, a young African American that gets into a bad predicament as he is caught in the middle of a robbery and the murder of a white shopkeeper. (To me, the first few chapters were confusing because o...more
Grant Wiggins resides in Bayonne, Louisiana where he teaches at the local plantation school. Grant is one of the first members of his family to attend college. He is very driven and strives for success. He is the protagonist of the novel.
At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Jefferson, a young African American that gets into a bad predicament as he is caught in the middle of a robbery and the murder of a white shopkeeper. (To me, the first few chapters were confusing because of this, but I eventually caught on.) At his trial, Jefferson’s attorney tells the courthouse that Jefferson would have been incapable of anything as drastic as a robbery because he is no smarter than a hog. Although Jefferson is innocent, he is convicted of these crimes and sent to jail, where he will await his execution.
Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, asks Grant to visit Jefferson in jail and teach him how to become a man before he dies, rather than have Jefferson truly believe that he is nothing better than an animal. Grant is hesitant about this situation at first, but eventually he faces the challenge of turning Jefferson into a true man. I believe that this was a very brave thing for Grant to do. In the beginning he really didn’t want to help him out, but he did the right thing in the end.
On his first visit, Jefferson remains silent and refuses to eat the food which Grant and Miss Emma brought for him. Miss Emma becomes emotional at this and tells Grant that she no longer wishes to come to the jail with him. To get through to Jefferson, Grant buys him a radio and a notebook, with which he can write his thoughts in. He tells Jefferson that if he can face his execution with dignity it would be a great accomplishment. Jefferson writes about how so many more people seem to care about him now that he is on death row than ever before.
In my opinion, this book had many highs and lows. There would be parts in the story that deeply interested me such as when Grant visited Jefferson in jail and tried to help him become a man. There were also parts that weren’t as interesting as I hoped they would be like when Grant talked about his teaching and schooling. Overall, I was happy with the book and thought that it was very good.
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Read in January, 2008
A lesson Before Dying is a very MOVING book. By reading most of the other reviews I'm sure everyone understands what this novel is about. I'm not positive if I would have appreciated this book in High School had I read it 10 years ago. I would like to thank Mr. Gaines for his lessons!! I've typed out a few powerful passages that moved me...There were more but these are just some I made sure I highlighted!
A hero is someone who something for other people. He does something that other men don...more
A lesson Before Dying is a very MOVING book. By reading most of the other reviews I'm sure everyone understands what this novel is about. I'm not positive if I would have appreciated this book in High School had I read it 10 years ago. I would like to thank Mr. Gaines for his lessons!! I've typed out a few powerful passages that moved me...There were more but these are just some I made sure I highlighted!
A hero is someone who something for other people. He does something that other men don't and can't do. He is different from other men. He is above other men. No matter who those other men are, the hero, no matter who he is, is above them.
"Do you know what a myth is, Jefferson?" I asked him. "A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they're better then anyone else on earth -and that's a myth. The last thing they ever want is to see a black man stand, and think, and show that common humanity that is in us all. It would destroy their myth. They would no longer gave justification for having made us slaves and keeping us in the condition we are in. As long as none of stand, they're safe.
Please listen to me, because I would not lie to you now. I speak from my heart. You have the chance of being bigger then anyone who has ever lived on that plantation or come from this little town. You can do it if you try. You have seen how Mr. Farrell makes a slingshot handle. He starts with just a little piece of rough wood- any little piece of scrap wood- then he starts cutting. Cutting and cutting and cutting, then shaving. Shaves it down clean and smooth till it's not what it was before, but something new and pretty. You know what I'm talking about, because you have seen him do it. You had one that he made from a piece of scrap wood. Yes, yes - I saw you with it. And it came from a piece of old wood that he found in the yard somewhere. And that's all we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood. until we - each of us, individually- decide to become something else. I am still that piece of drifting wood, and those out there are no better. But you can be better.
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Read in January, 2008
A great book that's destined to become standard to high school English classes across the country. It will make a great second lesson when the kids are ready to move on from To Kill a Mockingbird.
It's a historical novel set in the pre-Civil Rights 20th Century South. It deals with the conflicts within and among a black agricultural community and the white powers that hem it in. It's historically specific and good in its toughness about that specificity: this is not a book about 'racism' abs...more
A great book that's destined to become standard to high school English classes across the country. It will make a great second lesson when the kids are ready to move on from To Kill a Mockingbird.
It's a historical novel set in the pre-Civil Rights 20th Century South. It deals with the conflicts within and among a black agricultural community and the white powers that hem it in. It's historically specific and good in its toughness about that specificity: this is not a book about 'racism' abstractly considered, it is a story about people in a particular time and place.
That said, this book eyes up very big issues, issues that haven't changed as much as we might have hoped in half a century. The book's central philosophical knot, as I read it: how do black men and women, and to a lesser extent conscious whites, find dignity and purpose in a racist culture that mechanically produces daily, petty diminutions of the spirit.
Put another way, how does a person spiritually survive the slow slogging effort to uplift her fellow man? In particular, why should the 'talented tenth' continue to be subjected to the indignities of ignorance and prejudice, shouldn't their individual achievements merit some reward, some relief from these conditions?
In order to even stage the problem, the book has to begin by positing that there is no easy out from the situation: you can't run from the setting, you can't run to California, or France, or take whatever fantasy escape hatch is on offer at the time. Although ALBD doesn't say as much, there's good reason to foreclose this possibility from the outset, simply because the problem is not substantively different in any of these places. Escape is a fantasy.
Beyond all that, this book is just well-written, engaging, all the things you and I want in a good read. It is uplifting without being feel-good, which I think is a tremendous accomplishment, and a characteristic of all my faves. ...less
This book I believe was a really good one and i can honestly say i finished the whole thing. That must be saying its really good because i have not finished more than five books ever. But this book was very discriptive and every time i stoped i just wanted to read more because it would always be a good part. This book takes place during the civil rights movements and when segregation was still pretty big. It is about this guy named Jefferson who is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, bu...more
This book I believe was a really good one and i can honestly say i finished the whole thing. That must be saying its really good because i have not finished more than five books ever. But this book was very discriptive and every time i stoped i just wanted to read more because it would always be a good part. This book takes place during the civil rights movements and when segregation was still pretty big. It is about this guy named Jefferson who is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but he claims he is innocent. He says he was on his way to a bar, but changed his mind and decided to tag along with two men who were on their way to a liquor store. But upon there arriving, the two guys started arguing with the storeowner, and a shootout started. All three of them were dead and Jefferson was the only one alive and stayed at teh scene of the crime until some one showed up, and that is one they blamed him for it.
Then when they go to court Jefferson's attorney was arguing and saying that Jefferson is dumber than a hog and is not smart enough to come up with something like that. But that really mad the towns people and Jeffersons aunts really mad, so his aunts tried their best to make sure Jefferson died and man with dignity and not a hog. So they asked a teacher named Grant Wiggins who has be teaching on a plantationoutside Bayonne, Louisiana.They asked him to teach him about dignity and what ever else he could. But at first Jefferson didn't want anything to do with him but after a while he started to adjust and write things down everyday. But if there is one thing I didn't like about this novel is the ending, I would have deffiently made it more cheerful and happy. But overall i believe it was a good book and would reccommend it to anyone....less
bookshelves:
fiction
Read in May, 2008
The power of this novel comes not from its beginning, which is compelling enough, but from the way Ernest Gaines ends the story -- a spectacular yet understated finale that uses a condemned man's own haltingly written words, the perceptions of all the people who see bits and pieces of his final day on earth, and the message delivered to the protagonist in the final scene.
The plot is straightforward and compelling. A young black man in postwar Louisiana accepts a ride to a liquor store with...more
The power of this novel comes not from its beginning, which is compelling enough, but from the way Ernest Gaines ends the story -- a spectacular yet understated finale that uses a condemned man's own haltingly written words, the perceptions of all the people who see bits and pieces of his final day on earth, and the message delivered to the protagonist in the final scene.
The plot is straightforward and compelling. A young black man in postwar Louisiana accepts a ride to a liquor store with two other men, and before he knows it, he is in the middle of a shootout between the men and the white store owner. He is the only one left standing, so his eventual conviction for murder is inevitable. But then comes the crux of the novel: the man's godmother wants the town's only black schoolteacher to visit her godson, to make him a man before he dies, because his defense attorney pleaded for him by saying that it would be wrong to execute someone who had no more sense than a hog.
Thus begins Grant Wiggins' unwilling journey toward a new understanding and acceptance of what it means to be a man. Resentful of his aunt's request to help the imprisoned man, he finds at first that the prisoner, Jefferson, is angry, cynical and uncooperative.
How their relationship progresses, and how it affects Grant's sense of himself, his growing involvement with a beautiful woman and his embattled relationship with his aunt and the local preacher, becomes the engine of the novel, and it results in a moving story made vivid by its powerfully evoked conclusion.
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bookshelves:
advisory-books-07-08
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
summer book; 07- *A Lesson before Dying* is an realistic non-fiction novel. It involves the story of a man named Ernest Grants, he helps to defend the rights of a black man who was accused of murder in a liquor store with two other men. This book is a very breathe-taking novel because it expands on the idea of how Jefferson (the victim on trial) should be sentenced to death a "man". However, everyone in the courthouse thought that he was a hog and shouldnt be treated as an human bein...more
summer book; 07- *A Lesson before Dying* is an realistic non-fiction novel. It involves the story of a man named Ernest Grants, he helps to defend the rights of a black man who was accused of murder in a liquor store with two other men. This book is a very breathe-taking novel because it expands on the idea of how Jefferson (the victim on trial) should be sentenced to death a "man". However, everyone in the courthouse thought that he was a hog and shouldnt be treated as an human being. Jefferson goes to jail to wait for his sentence to execution. His aunt anyways brings foood to him to eat in the jailcell but he refuses to eat anything. He thinks that if he eats the food, it would be the same as wasting it. The thoughts in jefferson's mind shows that he does not think worthy enough of himself that he gives up so fast. Grants is the man who tries to get JEfferson back on his feet again. Jefferson becomes an idol/ leader for all the black men in the county. He learns to defend himself even though he is going to die. I think he is an great symbol of heroin for all the blacks during the 1940s. I believe that his lesson before dying was to die an HONORABLE MAN, and not just a hog, or a black man who is discriminated against, in whatsoever, he did not commit the murder. I loved this book very much. It taught me much! ...less
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
This book is set in Louisiana in the 1940s. Grant Wiggins is a teacher on a plantation school, disillusioned with his life and his career.
"When you see that those 5 1/2 months you spend teaching each year are just a waste of time. You'll see that it'll take more than 5 1/2 months to scrape away the blanket of ignorance that has been plastered over those brains in the past 300 years."
"I felt like crying, but I refused to cry. There would be many more who would end up l...more
This book is set in Louisiana in the 1940s. Grant Wiggins is a teacher on a plantation school, disillusioned with his life and his career.
"When you see that those 5 1/2 months you spend teaching each year are just a waste of time. You'll see that it'll take more than 5 1/2 months to scrape away the blanket of ignorance that has been plastered over those brains in the past 300 years."
"I felt like crying, but I refused to cry. There would be many more who would end up like he did. I can't cry for them all, can I?"
Jefferson is waiting to be executed for a crime he witnessed, but didn't commit.
"They sentence you to death because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, with no proof that you had anything to do with the crime. The white folks have decided this is the convenient time and place for you to die. Always on Friday, the same time as he died. It can't happen too soom after the recognition of His death because it might upset the sensitive few. it can happen less than two weeks later though because even the sensitive few will have forgotten their Savior's death by then."
Grant visits Jefferson, at the request of his aunt, to prepare him for dying.
"What do I say to him? Do I know how a man is supposed to die? I'm still trying to fin dout how a man should live."
Gains writes powerful prose and tells a compelling story. It is brutally forthright and is made more depressing by the fact that this experience is still life for many, even in 2008.
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A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines, for me, was kind of hard to get into at first. It is set back when slavery was still legal. Jefferson, the main character, is a black man accused of murdering two white men and is sentenced to death. Without giving out to much information, a few goodhearted people come to Jefferson’s aid. Them being a young schoolteacher, Grant, his Aunt Tanta Lou, and Jefferson’s godmother Emma. They do what they can so that Jefferson dies a man and not a “hog...more
A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines, for me, was kind of hard to get into at first. It is set back when slavery was still legal. Jefferson, the main character, is a black man accused of murdering two white men and is sentenced to death. Without giving out to much information, a few goodhearted people come to Jefferson’s aid. Them being a young schoolteacher, Grant, his Aunt Tanta Lou, and Jefferson’s godmother Emma. They do what they can so that Jefferson dies a man and not a “hog”.
Doing everything they can to make Jefferson comfortable and happy while he is here, they teach him the bible and about God, they bring him food, radio, and a notebook to write his feelings in. Some of this angers Jefferson, but they don’t give up on him. Grant, however, is struggling not only from trying to help Jefferson but also with his own personal problems. This makes the reader grow more attached to him, feeling his struggles.
Throughout the book there are many controversial issues. Whether slavery is right or wrong and issues or religion are big parts in the book. Is there a God? Why should someone believe in such a thing? Will someone ever be able to believe? Those are some of the many questions the readers tend to ask themselves while reading.
Overall, I liked the book, it wasn’t one of my favorites but I was a good book. The author has a great way of explaining and showing how the characters are feeling and how they react to good and bad news.
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bookshelves:
education-pedagogy,
prison-industrial-complex
Read in February, 2008
The narrative was slow-starting, and even once it started going, it fell flatline for me. Part of this is structural, you know the trajectory of events on a superficial level from mere glance at the front and back covers. There is some beauty in it's depiction of the ordinary and a few insightful moments.
I did find the array of characters presented in the small town Louisiana setting interesting and the author's depiction of "mulatto" or "creole" as he interchanges, p...more
The narrative was slow-starting, and even once it started going, it fell flatline for me. Part of this is structural, you know the trajectory of events on a superficial level from mere glance at the front and back covers. There is some beauty in it's depiction of the ordinary and a few insightful moments.
I did find the array of characters presented in the small town Louisiana setting interesting and the author's depiction of "mulatto" or "creole" as he interchanges, presented some unexpected moments. Other times the text seems shamefully accomodationist to me. Rather than challenging, or at least being outraged about another black man who didn't do anything on death row, the characters in the book seem fatalist in their responses, (which range from praying to Jesus to taking a moment of silence in a school classroom to observing a butterfly) and perhaps rightfully so, but this was disturbing to me. It almost seems to paint the stereotypical outcome of the black male in contact with the "criminal justice" system in the palette of the everyday. Perhaps this was the author's intent, that the reader be disturbed by the powerlessness (self or superimposed) of every character in the text? But I don't get that impression.
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
I still think about this book, even after reading it months ago. It’s a very simple story about two African-American men in 1940s Louisiana; one is a teacher and the other is a uneducated man waiting to be executed for a murder he witnessed, but didn’t commit. Both of them have given up hope for their lives, and for humanity in general. They live by the rules of the white majority, and both face a bleak future that’s beyond their ability to change. They are forced to spend time together,...more
I still think about this book, even after reading it months ago. It’s a very simple story about two African-American men in 1940s Louisiana; one is a teacher and the other is a uneducated man waiting to be executed for a murder he witnessed, but didn’t commit. Both of them have given up hope for their lives, and for humanity in general. They live by the rules of the white majority, and both face a bleak future that’s beyond their ability to change. They are forced to spend time together, and eventually, they end up teaching each other how noble they are, and how precious life is. I won't lie; it's a very sad book, so you should read it with a box of Kleenex nearby. But it's not tragic. There's a great message that you'll carry away from it.
I still believe that To Kill a Mockingbird is the best American novel, but A Lesson Before Dying now ranks in my top three. So read it, and not just because it’s a profound examination of racial, gender, and religious issues. Read it as an appreciation of what the human soul can achieve, even in the smallest spaces. If you get to the line, “Tell Nannan I walked” and you don’t get choked up, you should check your pulse. ...less
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Chelsea
I thought this book was beautiful, but be warned - it is not a light or happy story. This is the saddest book I have read since John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". It tells the story of two men dealing with racism and the supposedly blind eye of justice in the South during the 1940's. There are no major surprises here - a black man is sentenced to death for a murder (of a white man) that he did not commit, and no, he does not miraculously get away from the sentence in the end. You ...more
I thought this book was beautiful, but be warned - it is not a light or happy story. This is the saddest book I have read since John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". It tells the story of two men dealing with racism and the supposedly blind eye of justice in the South during the 1940's. There are no major surprises here - a black man is sentenced to death for a murder (of a white man) that he did not commit, and no, he does not miraculously get away from the sentence in the end. You as a reader know he is going to die at the beginning of the story and so does he (Jefferson, the young defendant), which is what makes his redemption and education by the cynical teacher so difficult. The character development is the major strength in this book - I found myself really caring about the teacher, the reverend, and Jefferson, though they all had much different perspectives and motives driving them to action. An excellent book - highly recommended, and there is a reason so many high schoolers and college students have this on their required reading lists for class....less
bookshelves:
2007-2008
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone
This is my other summer reading book. It is about how a person named Grant have to deal with finding the identity of being an American. There is a guy named Jefferson who is arrested for associating with a robbery/murder but he claims to be innocent. The cops gave enough evidence so that the judge sentenced Jefferson to death. He will have to die in a number of days but before this day comes, Grant has to make Jefferson feel like he's a man because Jefferson lost his dignity and hopes when the p...more
This is my other summer reading book. It is about how a person named Grant have to deal with finding the identity of being an American. There is a guy named Jefferson who is arrested for associating with a robbery/murder but he claims to be innocent. The cops gave enough evidence so that the judge sentenced Jefferson to death. He will have to die in a number of days but before this day comes, Grant has to make Jefferson feel like he's a man because Jefferson lost his dignity and hopes when the prosecutor called him a hog. Jefferson started to doubt himself and became careless of his surroundings. Grant is having difficulties with trying to change Jefferson's mind. At first, Grant doesn't care about this and doesn't understand why he had to be the one to comfort/reassure Jefferson but as he starts to talk to Jefferson,he begins to understand who Jefferson really is and starts thinking from his point of view. So, this story is basically about how Grant learns about being American....less
Read in June, 2007
A black man (Jefferson) is wrongly sentenced to death in Lousiana in the 1940s for the murder of a white shopekeeper. The man's godmother asks her nephew, Grant - a teacher and the narrator of the novel -to meet with Jefferson - to make him a man before the state takes his life. Grant struggles with the concept - how to save a man's soul when he doesn't believe in an after-life, how to be an educated man in a world that degrades him. His meetings with Jefferson unfold slowly as Grant and Jeffers...more
A black man (Jefferson) is wrongly sentenced to death in Lousiana in the 1940s for the murder of a white shopekeeper. The man's godmother asks her nephew, Grant - a teacher and the narrator of the novel -to meet with Jefferson - to make him a man before the state takes his life. Grant struggles with the concept - how to save a man's soul when he doesn't believe in an after-life, how to be an educated man in a world that degrades him. His meetings with Jefferson unfold slowly as Grant and Jefferson begin to communicate and attempt to understand the worlds in which the two of them live. I really enjoyed the writing in this book - it made me think of To Kill A Mockingbird, if that book had been written from the perspective of Tom Robinson's family. It is filled with the frustration and anger underlying racial politics in our criminal justice system, and literally brought tears to my eyes in the final pages. Well worth reading....less
couldnt finish HORIBLE book HORRIBLE !!!
Leason before dying takes place during the time of all that civle dispute i want to say the late fourties.it takes place in the south in a mixed comunity. so what happens in the book is a younge dumb(he really isnt too smart) black man gets faulsy acused of murder and sent off to die. another young black man and is familey set out to stop it. here is why i think i didn't like it. its a slow read and not very creative. also i liek to read things t...more
couldnt finish HORIBLE book HORRIBLE !!!
Leason before dying takes place during the time of all that civle dispute i want to say the late fourties.it takes place in the south in a mixed comunity. so what happens in the book is a younge dumb(he really isnt too smart) black man gets faulsy acused of murder and sent off to die. another young black man and is familey set out to stop it. here is why i think i didn't like it. its a slow read and not very creative. also i liek to read things that i can relate too... this book i can't. and i like to read things that are closer to the time i live in. also ....Oprahs book club... everything i've read from it kinda sucks. so yeah if you like stories of "colored" people in the late 1940's (just before the civl rights movment 1954-1968)then go read this book if you dont liek southern talk or slow reads... this isnt the book for you.yeah...less
Read in March, 2008
I'm sure I will this book in my future English classrooms; it is a great launching pad for discussions about so many issues: capital punishment, Jim Crow, the need for intelligent blacks to "dumb down" or be submissive to whites, what it means to be a man, educational inequalities, family guilt...all told through the eyes of a imperfect teacher as he deals with pleasing his aunt and finding his identity within his place and time. I loved Gaines's choice of narrator because it gives a ...more
I'm sure I will this book in my future English classrooms; it is a great launching pad for discussions about so many issues: capital punishment, Jim Crow, the need for intelligent blacks to "dumb down" or be submissive to whites, what it means to be a man, educational inequalities, family guilt...all told through the eyes of a imperfect teacher as he deals with pleasing his aunt and finding his identity within his place and time. I loved Gaines's choice of narrator because it gives a fresh take and interesting interior monologue on each of the issues. I loved the peek into Southern country black culture in the early 50's and was surprised at how many elements matched my own upbringing. This book asks tough questions that will be spinning around in your head for days after you finish, but it's not a difficult read. Great for young, bright students who can handle heavier issues. ...less
Read in December, 2007
This novel got under my skin, even into my dreams, perhaps because I grew up in the segregated border South and taught in the Washington, DC schools a few years or maybe because the idea of being sentenced to die by electrocution is so scary. Anyway Gaines makes his book work. I don't know whether the challenge the teacher reluctantly undertakes is true, but the South as it wassin 1948, the characters, African=American community life, the way people talk among themselves, and the miscarriage of ...more
This novel got under my skin, even into my dreams, perhaps because I grew up in the segregated border South and taught in the Washington, DC schools a few years or maybe because the idea of being sentenced to die by electrocution is so scary. Anyway Gaines makes his book work. I don't know whether the challenge the teacher reluctantly undertakes is true, but the South as it wassin 1948, the characters, African=American community life, the way people talk among themselves, and the miscarriage of justice are. I hadn't read anything by Ernest Gaines before but will look for more. I do feel sorry for students required to read this in school despite how discussible it is because I think coming on this stirring book by accident is the best way. Forgot to mention that Paul is another important character. It's up to the reader to decide how credible he is....less
bookshelves:
good-books
One of my favorite books. Grant Wiggins the main characther is a teacher on a plantation outside Bayonne, Louisiana. A slow-witted man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and is sentenced to death. He claims he is innocent of the crime. Jefferson’s lawyer argues in court that Jefferson is nothing but a poor fool, hardly more worthwhile than a hog, and therefore incapable of plotting such a scheme.
Upon hearing the lawyer’s speech, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, resolves to help ...more
One of my favorite books. Grant Wiggins the main characther is a teacher on a plantation outside Bayonne, Louisiana. A slow-witted man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and is sentenced to death. He claims he is innocent of the crime. Jefferson’s lawyer argues in court that Jefferson is nothing but a poor fool, hardly more worthwhile than a hog, and therefore incapable of plotting such a scheme.
Upon hearing the lawyer’s speech, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, resolves to help Jefferson die like a man, not a hog. She asks Grant to help her, knowing that he will resist. He deplores the injustices done to his fellow black men, but he does not want to get involved in Jefferson’s case. However, after considerable pressure from his aunt, Tante Lou, he agrees to try to help Jefferson.
It is an excellent and very moving story....less
A tragic but grippingly powerful story. At the request of the accused grandmother, a school teacher attempts to help a young, innocent, but ignorant black teenager prepare to die in the electric chair in the Jim Crow South. Literature has long grappled with the reality of our mutual doom, death. But no other story so bravely and resolutely stares down the most bitter of fates, to die unjustly, in youth, in oblivion. The ancient greek and norse heros had the solace of their fame, the revolutiona...more
A tragic but grippingly powerful story. At the request of the accused grandmother, a school teacher attempts to help a young, innocent, but ignorant black teenager prepare to die in the electric chair in the Jim Crow South. Literature has long grappled with the reality of our mutual doom, death. But no other story so bravely and resolutely stares down the most bitter of fates, to die unjustly, in youth, in oblivion. The ancient greek and norse heros had the solace of their fame, the revolutionary fighters the balm of their cause, but the characters in this novel face death with the purest courageous resolve. If you enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird or The Death of Ivan Ilych, you should find similar themes and consequently enjoy this work. ...less
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of Oprah's book club
The one thing I've noticed is that all of Oprah's books are *incredibly* depressing. They all involve some kind of opression and/or tragedy, but they're also some of the best books I've ever read.
This one is no exception. It's a quick read, and should be read relatively quickly. My problem was that I spread out my reading of this book, which made it a little tedious. However, the third-to-last chapter was one of the most poignant pieces of literature I've ever read.
Honestly, once I f...more
The one thing I've noticed is that all of Oprah's books are *incredibly* depressing. They all involve some kind of opression and/or tragedy, but they're also some of the best books I've ever read.
This one is no exception. It's a quick read, and should be read relatively quickly. My problem was that I spread out my reading of this book, which made it a little tedious. However, the third-to-last chapter was one of the most poignant pieces of literature I've ever read.
Honestly, once I found out it was about a death row inmate in the deep south (and all the racism inherent therein), I wasn't really thrilled about the book. But it made me think and nearly had me in tears...so it must've been good, despite my initial misgivings....less
I think I would appreciate this book more if it was talking about my culture and heritage, but I'm not African American, so it didn't really get to me. Honestly I didn't think there was much to the plot, frankly it was almost a waste of time. It does have some substance, although there is sort of a sex scene in chapter 14. I didn't read it, somebody blacked it out with marker in the book I had! :D
Anyway... it showed racism really well, but the ending didn't really go down well with me, I don...more
I think I would appreciate this book more if it was talking about my culture and heritage, but I'm not African American, so it didn't really get to me. Honestly I didn't think there was much to the plot, frankly it was almost a waste of time. It does have some substance, although there is sort of a sex scene in chapter 14. I didn't read it, somebody blacked it out with marker in the book I had! :D
Anyway... it showed racism really well, but the ending didn't really go down well with me, I don't like the way it resolved. There was no epilogue, so you don't know if the way the book ended made an impact on other people in the story.
I can see why Oprah liked this book so much, kind of. But I didn't really care too much for it.
...less
book data (includes all editions)
avg rating
(all editions):
3.71 (2118 ratings)
avg rating
(this edition): 3.78
(163 ratings)
number of reviews: 236
other editions
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A Lesson Before Dying (Paperback)
isbn: 0375702709
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A Lesson Before Dying (Paperback)
isbn: 185242723X
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Lesson Before Dying (Vintage Contemporaries (Paperback))
isbn: 0785769811
