A Lesson Before Dying

by Ernest J. Gaines and SparkNotes

Book Overview

Get your "A" in gear!They're today's most popular study guides-with everything you need to succeed in school. Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes™ has developed a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586634763
• ISBN13: 9781586634766
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Sparknotes
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.2" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Lesson For Us All

I have several opinions about this book, and the first is that it should be placed on the mandatory reading list of every high school student in the USA; it is destined to become a literary classic in the same vein as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The themes introduced throughout this book are designed to elicit discussion and shatter stereotypes. The transformation of the book's main character, Jefferson- a poor, uneducated, young, black man who has been convicted of a murder he didn't commit and whose life is compared to that of a hog by his own defense attorney in the worst closing argument to a jury ever atempted, is remarkable to watch unfold. Jefferson is reborn on death row with the help of his teacher, Grant Wiggins, the university educated, local black school teacher who reluctantly agrees to visit Jefferson in his cell at the request of Jefferson's aunt, Miss Emma, who wants Wiggins to make Jefferson know he "ain't no hog." This book will evoke emotions in most of us; you will feel yourself react as you read. It is so very well written. Of course, the question remains is whether the book's themes will make a difference to its readers. Ernest J. Gaines, the author, must think that they will; I think that the book could have been titled, a lesson for us all.

perfect for the modern classroom

I'm glad to hear many of the students who reviewed this book say that they found it more piercing than some of the "older" novels they read in class. Although as a teacher I wouldn't throw aside Hawthorne for Gaines, I think this book is a terrific addition to the American classics read in middle and high school. It makes a good pairing with To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee's classic (and still as moving as ever) focuses on the trial of a black man, unfairly convicted, whereas Lesson accepts the inevitable death sentence and explores the journey towards salvation. Our narrator is the only "educated" person in the novel, but for all his education, he has no soul and no religious faith. After being asked to meet with Jefferson, the condemned man, to convince him that he is in fact a man, not a hog, the narrator discovers as much about himself as the prisoner. The minor cast of characters are well drawn -- the pain evident in their lives is present on ever page. We witness the indignities they suffer in the hands of the white justice system, including being forced to wait hours just to speak to the sheriff. I'm glad Gaines includes one "good" white man (Paul) as a gesture of good will that there are always smaller heroes among villains. The friendship between the narrator and Paul makes for an inspiring finale.This book is very moving and well-written. Highly recommended.

This Book is Good

I'm an eighth grader who read A lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines. While I read this, I also read To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The setting for A Lesson Before Dying is a small town in the south during the 1940's where the two main characters are Jefferson and Grant. Jefferson is condemned to death by electrocution for a crime he did not commit. His godmother realizes that nothing can be done for his freedom, so she asks Grant to help Jefferson die with dignity. Gaines writes this tragic story and reveals his feelings of capital punishment, segregation, and the difficulty of acceptance in a unique way. Ernest J. Gaines was born into the world he describes in A Lesson Before Dying. He describes his feelings about capital punishment through Grant, much like Harper lee does in "To Kill a Mockingbird. When the date for Jefferson's death is set, Grant thinks about the way someone can plan a man's death. "How do people come up with a date and time to take a life from another man? Who made them God?" Harper Lee also conveyed the same feeling through Jem, when Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman, is sentenced to death. Gaines teaches the reader about segregation and acceptance through his other characters. The back of town is where blacks live, and bars for "blacks only", "blacks only" restrooms, and the school where Grant teaches for "blacks only" are only some of the examples of segregation Gaines so explicitly places in the novel. Lee describes Maycomb County, where To Kill a Mockingbird takes place, as a segregated town, much the same as in Gaines' novel. The south side of town is for the blacks, and there is a church that is for "blacks only." Both A Lesson Before Dying and To Kill a Mockingbird are touching and powerful novels that reach out to the reader and portray a time of injustice, inequality, and struggle. By experiencing the struggle that the main characters in both novels go through fighting for their lives against unfair accusations just because they are black, the reader experiences the horror and injustice of racism on an extremely emotional level, and cannot help but be changed by the reading of these books.

A Lesson for Everyone

"A Lesson Before Dying" offers multiple lessons which anyone can be guided by. In this compelling novel, Gaines incorporates his own background and experiences in a similar setting into making the characters and events come alive. This book addresses many themes such as injustice, discrimination, and the death penalty. However, the single theme that most stood out to me was the concept of pride and dignity. Jefferson's pride has completely been torn apart by the unfair accusation for a crime he didn't commit and by being called a "hog" by his defense lawyer. Grant's mission, as he visits Jefferson in prison, is to teach him to regain a sense of pride, so that he can die with dignity and face his death courageously. He also teaches that heroism can be achieved by simply having the courage to defy and stand up to those in authority. This book really got me thinking, especially concerning the death penalty. When you think about it, it really can sound unethical for one person to be able to determine the date and time to take away life from another person, especially if they didn't even deserve to die in the first place, as in Jefferson's case. Overall, "A Lesson Before Dying" was an outstanding, realistic, and moving book with lessons that can educate any reader. I highly recommend it for anyone who would like to learn something about any aspect of the human soul.

The Product of a Brilliant Mind

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