A Lesson Before Dying (Oprah's Book Club)

by Ernest J. Gaines

Book Overview

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER - A deep and compassionate novel about a young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to visit a Black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375702709
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.6" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Page turner

This book keeps you on your toes

Bought it for school but ended up liking it

I ordered it for school It was slow in the beginning but I ended up liking it

A glimpse of the past.

I really enjoyed this book. You were able to almost feel the internal conflicts that the main character has.

A Lesson For All!

Overall I feel that this book is extremely well written. The book is centered on one main character and gives you the ability to get into his mind. While reading this book I was never bored or disappointed. The chapters were not long and drawn out which kept my attention and forced me to read on. I enjoyed how the author used descriptive detail in order to give me a clear understanding of the setting, characters and moral of this novel. I loved the fact that this book touched me so much even though it wasn't happening to me. I felt as if I was there, yelling at the white people for treating the blacks so poorly and feeling their pain. This novel will forever stay with me; it has opened my mind to a new perspective on how something that occurred so far away can have an effect on me, right here, right now.

A Lesson Before Dying

In his inspirational fiction, Ernest J. Gaines has explored the most important qualities of soul. Freedom has been a major theme in his works. In A Lesson Before Dying dignity is lifted up. This is a very powerful and touching story. The biggest thing is the lesson it teaches. The reader learns an important lesson about life, family, and education along with Grant and Jefferson. I would recommend this book to anyone, it's very easy to follow.

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.

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.