This story is set in 1940s Louisiana. A young black man is with friends who plan and execute a robbery--which goes bad quickly. The young man, Jefferson, is quickly arrested and tried for murder--even though he had no weapon and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enter Grant Wiggins, a young black teacher who is chafing at the racial inequality of the times. He'd like nothing more than to leave this racial backwater bayou and head north for a city with more equality. But Jefferson's grandma is a family friend, and she begs Grant for the things he can provide--knowledge, dignity, and the ability for her grandson to die like a man...not the "hog" the white racists have called him. Very well-written, not preacher-like, I enjoyed this novel immensely. It shows us the frailty of humanity, along with the strength of human dignity. This novel should sit on everyone's shelf of books that made them think.

The thought process and inspiration behind A Lesson Before Dying were brilliant; however, the story just fell flat. I felt that the characters were one-dimensional and disengaged one from the story; Grant was a bore, for example, he repeated the same lines and the same ideas, most of the time in the same words. I kept waiting for spectacular and inspiring events to occur and to make me feel proud of Grant's work to reach Jefferson, but I was severely disappointed. This story moved water-drop slow, trickling from one important event through insignificant episodes to another important event. While I do feel that stories need time to develop the characters; however, in this story, I didn't see much character development. At the end of the book, Grant was the same man, same selfish mannerisms, yet in life, people change all the time. I would think that witnessing an execution and the injustice of the death penalty would be enough to change most people for better or worse. Then the story became absurd when Jefferson, an ignorant teenager who was brainwashed by a racist society, transformed into a man overnight because Grant made an inspiring speech to him. Why should Jefferson listen to Grant, who happens to be a selfish, cowardly and "educated" black? This book disappointed due to the fact that exaggerations are laced throughout, and it only delved into skin-deep into the death penalty issues. The story contains few descriptions of the execution (the climax), and so many descriptions of tedious events such as Grant's brawl with two bricklayers. Jefferson's execution was brief at best; it just didn't achieve the heart-wrenching ending that it was supposed to accomplish. Save your money and buy a book like Rain of Gold that can achieve true engagement between reader, characters and story; nevertheless, guaranteeing a first person perspective of the book.

This book seems to have been created for the express purpose of selling a film option and padding the Oprah Winfrey Book Club list. Trite, sentimental, peopled with unmemorable characters, and written in a flat and artless style, 'A Lesson Before Dying' is a lesson to avoid. Skip class at the Ernest J. Gaines school of writing, go down the road and jump the fence at Harold Bloom's orchard to pick something from Western Canon instead.

I picked up this book with great anticipation, as I knew it was selected for Oprah's Book Club and had won a couple of awards, including the National Book Award. Although I had never read any of the writer's previous works, his name is familiar and so, naturally, I assumed I would be in for a dramatic and stunning emotional rollercoaster. I wasn't.

This book is so poorly written I really hope that my suspicions are true and that all the pages of the original text were replaced by a 15 year old promising prankster. While the main premise of the book has the potential to be a real winner, Gaines fails to give it the depth it really needs. Instead, he treads above the surface throughout the entire book, using superficial emotions with superficial, and stereotypical, vocabulary. At the end, we get what everyone expects, the standard tearjerker in a Lifetime movie. The book was a chore to read, with Gaines' digressions making it nearly unbearable (must we know about every single person that attended the school play, and must we go through the play in its entirety?).

Nevertheless, Gaines does have an incredible way of making the story seem realistic. The main character, Grant Wiggins, is clearly not a writer yet when he telling the story it is as if he were simply talking to an old friend. Still, while Wiggins is not a writer, Ernest J. Gaines is, and an established one too. One would've hoped that a man with his clout would give us the mature literary quality one expects. Instead, we have this overwrought and sluggish lump of a book that has the potential to be refined into a literary masterpiece yet is nothing more than a bad extension to a Tyler Perry play.

Strong, powerful read...

So strong and so powerful that you may almost put it down in the first chapter, the language used to described a black man, a fellow human, so strong and offensive that you just want to close the book, slam it to the ground, and have nothing to do with it.

BUT, almost immediately it grows into a strong, heartwarming and ultimately inspiring story.

In the end, it touches all avenues of human character and endeavor and moves us to the core of our being.

If you liked "To Kill A Mockingbird," you'll like this one, too. Count on it!!

This is suppose to be a great book but it came in this version as a "play". I had to return it for the actual book. The play was just a pamphlet.

I thought I had purchased the actual novel but instead I got sent the sparknotes version of it. Went back to the site to see if anyone made a mistake only there is no listing anywhere that it is anything other than the real thing.

This was a book you wanted to keep reading. It was easy reading and worth every minute.

One of the most depressing books I've ever read. I struggled to get through the pages. I could not wait for it to end...

I really enjoyed this book. It did not make my 5-star plateau, but it did create a character that I related to fairly well. The parts of the book that I liked best had very little to do with the main plot.

Grant is a college educated man who has returned to his prejudiced, hopeless town that he grew up in. He constantly battles the feeling that he is wasting his time by coming back to his previous community. He is a teacher at the same school that he was educated at, and he continuously sees that everything is coming full circle. No matter how hard he teaches or puts forth effort, he sees his efforts as fruitless: the white society dictates what you can or cannot do; many of his students, like his previous colleagues when he was younger, just end up working in the fields or moving; others end up dead.

Grant uses his experience with Jefferson, the man who is in a more hopeless situation than he is but somehow still rises above it all, to obtain stronger faith and prepare him to be the "hero" he talks about in the book.

The undertones of the books are also appealing with religious and the string of anti-intellectualism interacting with each other.

Just a well-written, thought-provoking read.

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 really 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.

Although the book gets off to a slow start in the first few chapters, it quickly picks up and grabs your attention. It delivers a great story that will change your perspective on things for sure. You will enjoy reading this book as it was very well written. Powerful, this book shows us the true meaning of what it is like to be falsely accused. The book delivers several life lessons along with an inspiring message that we can all learn from.
Ernest J. Gaines brilliant novel depicts the life of an African American elementary school teacher named Grant Wiggins who is caught up in another man's problems. Jefferson, a sensitive young black man of below-average intelligence is found guilty for the murder of a white bartender in fact did not murder. As Jefferson awaits the electric chair on death row, Grant is forced by his aunt, Tante Lou, and his godmother, Miss Emma, to teach Jefferson to die with dignity. Jefferson has an extremely pessimistic attitude and takes the words of his defense attorney to heart, "Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." As Grant continues to visit Jefferson in his cell he asks Jefferson to die with dignity as he says in the quote, "I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be." Grant goes on to say that his execution will be long remembered within the African American community and that his death should be with dignity as a man and not as a hog.
Grant is haunted by his troubled past. He is angry with the white community and so he went to college to get away from the humiliation that came with being an under-educated black. He refuses to eat from the kitchen of the plantation that he worked on during his childhood. He also is having an affair with a married school teacher named Vivian who has two kids and is in the process of divorcing her husband. Vivian is the only reason that Grant hasn't left the south and gone to live with his parents in California.
Grant changes Jefferson's life through believing that Jefferson can change society. Grant finds that he was wrong about Jefferson and so he can help Jefferson to die with dignity.
Jefferson is in turn a savior for Grant for changing Grant's view.
Ernest J. Gaines gives us another great American classic that is comparable to The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Catcher in the Rye. These books give a good indication of what American literature has become. It has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in the literary arts by the Chicago Tribune and the Oprah's Book Club. A book with such high honors is a must read for anyone who considers themselves an avid reader.

I knew nothing about this book when I bought it, let it sit in my bookshelf for the better part of a year, and now I cannot stop thinking about A Lesson Before Dying. Certainly the issues of race, prejudice, and community obligation (leadership) are powerful themes. What I found most striking, however, was the way two different paths in life converged allowing two males to learn what it means to become a man.

I think of this as a great summer read. Thoughtful, well, written, yet not difficult. I read the book in about five hours and am now getting far more hours of interesting reflection as a result.

I suspect readers of any age could enjoy this book.

It was easy to order, and a good price. And it got to my house exactly when i wanted it. I recomend everyone who can use the same sender I did, should. I garauntee they will be satisfied.

Okay, I never heard of Ernest J. Gaines until last year. This book is quite a surprisingly effective book about Grant Wiggins, a teacher, in a Louisiana Plantation who is asked to help Jefferson, a death row inmate, be a man before he is executed for a crime that he didn't commit. Gaines writes with great ease to the audience. It is one of those books that has come along in the classrooms. The book itself is a morality lesson about two very different African American men, Jefferson and Grant, who learn to bond despite Jefferson's resistance and reluctance. He keeps hearing him being described as a hog by the judge and those white men who sentenced him to death. The book is a tear-jerker when Jefferson acts like a hog because that is how he is described and his beloved Aunt Emma who would do anything to make him a man. She is dying and expects to be reunited with him after he is executed. There is no last minute appeals or years of waiting. This book might be a great argument against the death penalty.

This book was a fast read that told a deep emotional journey of one man and the psychological transformation of another. All of us could stand to learn a few lessons from this book, even if it is only about the profound significance our words and actions can have on other people.

A Lesson Before Dying is one of those books that takes some getting into. The story is good but the writing style is much better. I read it as a freshman in college and found it an easy read for the average eighth grader. I liked it because it was an easy read that was not complex in syntax yet rich in context. Not one of my favorites but the story is welcome for debate in the classroom.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible not to be "moved" , February 24, 2008

Story set in 1940's in a small town in Louisiana. Young black man (Jefferson) happens to be an innocent bystander at a liquor store when two men attempt a robbery and gun shots break out. Jefferson is charged with the crime - he is unable to prove his innocence in a town where a black man is guilty before proven innocent - and he is sentenced to death. Jefferson's godmother realizes that Jefferson has no way out of his fate and wants him to hold his head high before his death. She enlists the help of Grant, a young local school teacher to mentor Jefferson during the time he has left. At different times in this book, you are nauseous over the racism - you feel the pain and suffocation of the main characters - you are inspired at their determination despite the hopelessness. The author places you right at the scene and you live this story. This was one of the most moving books that I have ever read.

A black teacher in 1940's Louisiana; cynical, self-centered and unsure of who he is, helps a poor black man from his plantation community unjustly destined for the electric chair discover his worth. Told from the point of view of the teacher with no real twist of fate at the end, this book tells a surprisingly positive story of choice, bravery, faith and humanity.

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.

Ernest J. Gaines's "A Lesson Before Dying" is one of the best books I've ever read in my life. It is a touching tale of a man, Grant Wiggins, and his life, living with his grandmother, Tante Lou, his love-life with his girlfriend Vivian Baptiste, and the pressure of being a schoolteacher and teaching his grandmother's godson, Jefferson, to become a man before he is executed for a crime he didn't commit, but only for being a black man at the scene of a robbery.

Every time Grant goes to visit Jefferson in prison, he becomes more and more connected to the prisoner. All tied in with the plot, Tante Lou, Miss Emma (Jefferson's godmother) and Reverend Ambrose (Tante Loud and Miss Emma's reverend), and in many cases Vivian believe that he is not up to par with his manhood.

This a touching tale of racism, friendship and importance of life. Every page is extremely well written and very entertaining and will pull you in with every page you read. An instant classic that everybody will enjoy.

"A Lesson Before Dying" is a moving fictional account of a black man sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Jefferson is convicted of a convenience store murder, being the only person left alive after a shootout, despite having not pulled any triggers. His lawyer attempts to get him acquitted by telling the jurors that they might as well convict a "hog," which sparks the book's main storyline - Jefferson's aunt convinces local black teacher Grant Wiggins to visit Jefferson in prison and teach him how to be a man, instead of a hog. Gaines's prose is plain but evocative; ultimately, the novel explores the themes of racial identity in the face of oppression, universal human dignity and worth, and what it means to be a (hu)man.

There are so many lessons learned when reading this book. This is the story of Jefferson. Jefferson is at the wrong place at the wrong time and is accused and convicted of robbery and murder. He is referred to, by his own defense lawyer, as a "hog". The reader knows he is innocent. He is convicted by a jury of 12 white men. He is sentenced to death by electrocution. Even though he is innocent and all of the black people know it, it is accepted. This is the hardest thing for me to understand. There is no fight.

The story takes place during the 50's in Louisiana. A time of obvious racial discrimination. Grant Wiggins lives in the same small town as Jefferson. His aunt and Jefferson's godmother ask Grant to help make Jefferson a man before his last day. Grant does not want any part of it, but does it for the two women. Grant is a school teacher and is not a man of faith. He does not think he can do anything to help Jefferson. He struggles with his own demons as well as dealing with the conviction of this innocent man.

This book is a great read, provokes great discussion and is very touching. I highly recommend.

How can one thank an author for painting a picture so wonderfully that you enter into their world? Thanks to Mr. Gaines for creating Jefferson, an angel in his own right, who saves so many souls. This book was so painful to read, yet it cleansed the spirit! This book and the book Understanding: Train of Thought are the two best books I've read this year.

This book is concerning a child that happen to be of African- American ethnicity who had run ins with the law all the time and almost lost his life a couple of times. Well that is what my son told me. He seemed to have kept the bookmark in this book for a long time to read other books written by black writers. I assume that it was okay though because he would still pick it up every now and then.

A Lesson Before Dying is the best known Ernest J. Gaines novel, even having been blessed as an "Oprah's Book Club" choice in September 1997. Today it is read in many middle and high school English classes for the lessons that it has to teach all of us about human dignity and grace. Not all of Oprah Winfrey's book choices over the years have been the wisest, but she got this one right.

The novel is set in a section of 1940s Louisiana that Gaines knows and works so well in his writing. Jefferson, a young black man who by sheer chance found himself at the scene of a store robbery that went terribly wrong is convicted of murder and sullenly awaits his date with the state's electric chair. There is substantial evidence of his guilt since the money from the cash register is found in his pockets and he has helped himself to a bottle of whiskey from behind the counter. And he is the only man still standing since the white storekeeper and the two black men who gave Jefferson a ride to the store have all been shot to death.

It is when Jefferson's defense attorney, trying to save him from the death penalty, describes him as something more like a hog than like a man that Grant Wiggins finds himself drawn into the drama surrounding the pending execution. Wiggins is the first black man who has left the plantation for an education and he is unhappy and resentful that the only work for him is teaching the children of those who still work the fields of the cane farm as generations of their families did before them. In a way, he considers himself to be as much a slave of the system as all those who are still tied to the land for their survival. But his aunt, with whom he still lives, and Jefferson's godmother pressure him into becoming involved. They want him to convince the condemned man that he is a man, not a hog, and that he needs to approach his pending execution with all the dignity and courage that only the best of us ever really possess.

Wiggens takes on this responsibility simply because he doesn't dare to deny his aunt's request and, when he believes that he is failing them all, he continues the struggle only because he cannot bear to disappoint her. It is only when Jefferson begins to slowly respond to what Wiggins is telling him, and asking of him, that Wiggins realizes that he is being taught a lesson every bit as important as the one that he himself is trying to teach. A Lesson Before Dying is an inspirational book, one that will be used in classrooms for many years to come, and it very much deserves the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction that it received in 1993.

Gaines writes with force and sensitivity about heroism and faith. The burden of expectations on black men in 1949 Louisiana, the impossiblity of meeting those expectations, the self-loathing that comes as a result, and the possiblity nonetheless of redemption are skillfully and compellingly developed.

The setting is a young black man's dubious conviction of murder, which the white defense lawyer rebuts with the observation that the defendant was no more capable of premeditation than a hog. The protagonist is a young black teacher who reluctantly works with the defendant to touch his soul and to help him face death with great courage.

Given the daily horrors and humiliations suffered during the segregation era, it's not entirely convincing to me that this one "hog" remark would be so devastating to the defendant and the community. Of course, it's a great symbol for all of the nastiness of racism -- which points to a serious problem with the book. The obvious symbolism and didactic nature of the book do lessen its force.

Another problem is the protagonist, Grant Wiggins. He's whiny and betrays a real mean streak in how he treats his pupils. His dialogue with his girl friend is very unconvincing, and for the life of me I don't understand what she sees in him. Of course, self-doubt is a critical theme of the book, and the weaknesses of its main protagonist is in some ways a real strength of the book. But there is a balance here, and the reader will sometimes find the protagonist irritating.

On the whole, this is an absorbing and worthwhile book.

This book takes me back to my college days (which weren't that long ago!). I took a course in Comparative Ethnic Literature that, quite possibly, changed my life. Among the books that we were required to read was A LESSON BEFORE DYING, beautifully written by Ernest Gaines. Jefferson, a slow-witted young man, is wrongfully accused of murder, at the scene of a stick up. This conviction is race-based. [Jefferson is a young African-American man in the South.] The young man is treated more lowly than a pig in the trough. Without an education or a prayer, Jefferson needs to be brought some dignity during the final days before his inevitable execution. Grant Wiggins, a very successful product of their small Southern town, has returned, and is the pride and joy of their community. Wiggins possesses an education and is also a schoolteacher. He is approached to bring the young man a connection to something other than his doomed fate. Their connection actually transforms Grant, in the process, and their exchange is anything but one-ended.

This book is written in such a way that you really feel as though this is a skillfully orchestrated play. I could see the imagery he described and I could also hear the Southern drawls and feel the scorching Southern heat burn my skin. It isn't often that a book transfixes me four years later as though I had just read it yesterday. That is what A LESSON BEFORE DYING succeeds in doing and I really reccomend that you read it--not because Oprah picked it, but, because it truly is a great example of terrific modern day fiction.

I read this for my high school ap english II class last year. I thought it was very well written and showed how "white"/caucasian people tended to blame everything on "black"/african american people. You really feel for the main character Grant and especially Jefferson. I cried at the end of the book.

thank you for your time,
Loran

I read the book for my 10th grade English class. I kept wondering why was this book picked until I reached the end when I came upon the diary of Jefferson, the black boy sentenced to death. Yes he learned that lesson before he died, but I hope the author would make that progress a bit more presentable than a verbose, uninteresting way of filling in unrelated-info to test the readers' patience.

I found the book amid my old junk last week and wanted to read it again, but without a teacher and a class I lack the patience to endure the 19 or so chapters before the climax, and when I jumped to it directly...it tasted awefully pain without the contrast of all the boring content before it.

This book gives me something new to think about every time I open it. Moving and enriching, this book will always remain in my top 5 favorite books... which is saying a lot since my bookshelf contains 100s of books. Whether you are black or white, pink or green, EVERYONE should read this book.

This novel works well in the high school classroom. Here's why. Students today are drawn to nonfiction, and A Lesson Before Dying, although it is a novel, is set in a time and place that will be familiar to students who are also studying American history. The courtroom chapter, for example, can be paired with a viewing of the PBS documentary on the Emmett Till case, particularly the trial. The descriptions of the schoolhouse parallel Maya Angelou's autobiographical account in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Most interesting is the way Gaines shows the pervasiveness of forms of racism that go far beyond the reality of separate water fountains and toilets, which students learn about in history classes. Gaines shows how Grant Wiggins is made to feel inferior through smaller things, like being mocked for pronouncing "batteries" correctly or being made to wait to speak to Henri Pichot for over two hours, while Pichot finishes his dinner. There are dozens of demeaning gestures and suble humiliations of speech that help students see how racism, for Wiggins, was inescapable.

This book is truly worth buying. Great read, great lesson. Ernest Gaines is a genius and a very impressionable writer. I will never forget how touching this story was.

Ernest J. Gaines' wrote this beautifully moving
story about a young black man condemned to die
for a crime he did not commit in 1940's Louisiana.

In prison, he is aided by a black teacher that
helps to understand that he can die with dignity.
I had read this book before it became an Oprah
Book Club selection and this remains one of my
all-time favorite novels. I absolutely loved it!

Fans who enjoyed reading this will also enjoy
reading Gaines' A Gathering of Old Man, which is
not the classic that this book is but still a
worthy read. This book does a really wonderful
job of showing black life in the South before
the Civil Rights movement. The lessons of
hope and forgiveness are priceless.

You have to read this novel, it is a great option for a tremendous time.

Mr. Gaines has written a beautiful moving piece of fiction in this fine work. This work is very subtle but will hit you like a hammer. Brilliantly done!

I don't think I've every cried so hard while reading a novel. So moving, so sad, but not a bit melodramatic, overwrought, or sentimental. The emotional power is simply the result of Mr. Gaines letting the power of the realities of the story, which are the realities of our damaged nation, speak for themselves. His writing is spare and wonderful. Many writers would either oversimplify or overamplify the book's themes; Mr. Gaines has the talent and confidence not to do that.

I have had the great good fortune of having read many wonderful books. This is among the best.

Without a doubt, this is one of the finest pieces of literature I have ever read. It should be used in literature classes to exemplify the art of character development.

People ask me why I would ever want to work for a criminal defense attorney. I'd like to give them this book. Everyone should read this. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

This was a plodding novel with no engaging characters and lackluster writing. It is nowhere near the brilliance of Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Their Eyes Were Watching God, or any number of novels in the same genre. Somewhere along the line it must have become politically correct to praise this novel, and everyone has jumped on the bandwagon.

Never before had a novel pushed my emotions to the brink before I read Jefferson's journal entries late in Gaines' novel. Literally feeling Jefferson's pain, my stomach couldn't help but sink as I imagined the horror he must have felt during his last days. Extremely moving and driven by a bold plot laced with racial questions, this story is certainly a powerful glimpse into the heart and soul of man--black and white alike.

This is a fine, well-written book that takes on a subject crossing all racial lines-leaving this world having lived with some dignity. I was a little confused in the beginning. I thought the narrator's voice was that of a child since he was referring to coming home from school and passing his mother and Jefferson's nannan at the table and wanting to avoid them on the way upstairs. But it was a school teacher's voice. And what a wonderful voice it turned out to be! The teacher does not sugarcoat his own mixed feelings when faced with the task of meeting again and again with Jefferson, a young black man who has been condemned for a murder he did not commit, a young man whose attorney had argued for mercy on the grounds that sending Jefferson to the electric chair would be no different than electrocuting a hog. Jefferson's nannan wants the teacher to give him lessons on going through his terrible fate with dignity. The dignity of many lives, such as the children now growing up where Jefferson did, hangs on the outcome. A very well-told story that leaves the reader with a lot to think about.

If you knew today was your last, what legacy would be left behind? Characters in the novel, A lesson Before Dying, struggle against the very confines of this question. Their story takes place in a small Cajun community during the 1940's where prejudice is thick, as is pious religion. One young black man named Jefferson is found guilty under the charges of murder. He is falsely accused and sentenced with the death penalty, though he is merely a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Both accuser and defendant believe he is less than a human- only an "old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas." Jefferson's godmother refuses to let these words render truth and believes the one man capable of penetrating these lies is the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins. Though Grand wants nothing to do with the condemned man and feels as uncertain about life as the one sentenced, he agrees to visit the cell. Together, the two men must impact one another to discover the purpose of life.
Upon finishing the novel, I truthfully had a mixture of feelings. I felt as though I could not give it immediate praise, nor complete criticism. Its commendable features are displayed in the novel's message about the importance of life, love, and equality. Grant is forced to see life beyond selfish ambition, whereas Jefferson discovers the importance of love in his last days, and both defy prejudice expectations. However, beyond these amiable qualities, I personally do not agree with the novel's open sexual references regarding Grant and a married woman or the novel's blatant profanity. These issues caused my experience with the novel to be negatively affected. If not for these avoidable flaws, I would render A Lesson Before Dying as a masterpiece of painted culture, valuable lessons, and heart wrenching depth. It is one that causes the reader to ponder over the same question concerning our legacy as did the characters. Jefferson has to choose whether to stand as a man or die like an animal, just as we must also do today. I commend the novel for its impressionable look into life's realities and values, but cannot fully recommend it due to my personal stand on its lack of morality. Though my opinion is one of torn feelings and may fail to persuade one in their decision of reading it, I hope to open one's eyes to both the novel's strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, I leave my honest opinion at the door of the next anxious reader to choose for themselves. After all, each choice becomes a part of our own legacy- even the evoked thoughts from a piece of literature.

This is one of the best novels a person can read. This book has more than one meaning. Ernest J. Gaines brings this novel to life. As you read, you will feel as though you are portraying one of the characters in the book. When you hear the thoughts of the characters, you will become attach, and will not but the book down.
Jefferson, a man sentenced to death after being the ony survivor in a liquior store shootout. He is convicted of murder. Jefferson's Godmother and her good friend convince Grant Wiggins to visit Jefferson in his cell. Although Grant is unsure wether to stay on the plantation or escape to another state with his girlfriend. Even with this internal conflict, he develops a strong bond with Jefferson. With the bond that him and Jefferson have, it pleases his aunt and Jefferson's Godmother. But after all this a one of a kind story that everyone should read. I gave this book a 5 star rating because it was recommended for me to read and I found it to be one of the best books I ever read.

I have read this book twice and have learned from it each time. After the tears and the outrage of how people were treated, it came to me that yes there are times in life we can't change great injustices, but how we deal with them is a lesson for the young and helps you to grow as a person. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. It's a lovely sad story, and well worth the time to read. You may begin to think a little differently yourself.

i noticed that the teenagers found this book too slow, too boring, too unrealistic......too bad most of them that read it did not have the maturity to actually expand beyond the pages of this book. (my 15 year old would probably not like it either) i found it very honest...very real....and one that makes me more aware of the prejudices that we have all grown up with and are exposed to on a daily basis. well written....

The book A Lesson Before Dying is a very remarkable novel. It talks about many stereotypes that were popular in the 1940's. Jefferson, a poor black man from Louisiana with no education is one of the main characters in the book. He is being trialed for murder that occurred in a local liquor store; however he did not commit the crime. There is nothing he can do about it because he is black and the time period plays a major role in the outcome of the trial. Grant Wiggins another main character in the book plays a very large role. He visits Jefferson's holding cell and tries to tell him that what the lawyer said during the trial was not true. Both Jefferson and Grant Wiggins are given no respect where they are from because they are "different."

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about past times. The author, Ernest J. Gaines makes you feel as though you are actually involved in the book. It is very realistic and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book because it is an easy and very entertaining read.

A Lesson before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines, is a non fiction book that has many themes addressing stereotypes. As the book starts Jefferson, the main character, is convicted of a murder that he did not commit. He is a very poor and uneducated man, so all he can do is beg for his life in front of a grand jury who finds him guilty of murder. Jefferson's Aunt, Ms. Emma convinces Grant Wiggins, an educated black teacher to help Jefferson die a proud man instead of a coward little "hog." They use "hog" in the book many times to describe Mr. Jefferson's life. As you read deeper into this book your emotions will change, from sadness to happiness, as Jefferson dies a proud man instead of a hog.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about African American History. Also this would be a great book for high school or middle school students. There are many themes and emotions about this book that could be analyzed in different ways. This book doesn't really stagger along and you will always enjoy it. Personally, I liked the first couple of chapters about Mr. Jefferson and his crime that he was accused of committing. One aspect of the book that I did not enjoy was when Grant talks to Mr. Jefferson in his cell. It was very unenthusiastic and didn't excite me. If you are familiar with Ernest J. Gaines writings you will also like this book because most of his books are similar with this one.

The book A Lesson Before Dying is a very remarkable novel. It talks about many stereotypes that were popular in the 1940's. Jefferson, a poor black man from Louisiana with no education is one of the main characters in the book. He is being trialed for murder that occurred in a local liquor store; however he did not commit the crime. There is nothing he can do about it because he is black and the time period plays a major role in the outcome of the trial. Grant Wiggins another main character in the book plays a very large role. He visits Jefferson's holding cell and tries to tell him that what the lawyer said during the trial was not true. Both Jefferson and Grant Wiggins are given no respect where they are from because they are "different."

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about past times. The author, Ernest J. Gaines makes you feel as though you are actually involved in the book. It is very realistic and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book because it is an easy and very entertaining read.

This book is very interesting because it is a black fiction novel from a black novelist. A Lesson Before Dying is about this young man named Jefferson who was sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit. However, the defense attorney called him a hog by insulting his intelligence, and i know what it is like to be insulted based on my intelligence. furthermore, there is a another main character who was telling the story Grant Wiggins, an angry yet apathetic, and mostly a mercenary teacher who was forced by his aunt Tante Lou to make jefferson a man before he dies. This book is mostly a what would you do, if you want to prove someone wrong about you or somebody type of story. It makes me sad and angry because think of the life Jefferson could've had before he was taken into custody and indicted for a crime he so-called commited. Furthermore, the situation is so sad the same chaos that happend to Jefferson is still going on today in the United States,for example, the white girl who accused a black high school student of rape was sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit, she came on to him first, so he was released and i hope she do some hard time for perjury and slander. This book is definity worth reading, and it will make a person think before they act, and this is a prize winning book and Gaines did a marvelously good job on this one.