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Summary: This was chosen as Chaffey College book of the year in 1999!
Review: Ernest J. Gaines definitely captures the heat of the south in his story of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He has brought us all back to a place where society lived in fear and scapegoats were needed to hide their own. Too bad that's the way it was and could be again if we forget where we came from. Thanks to Ernest J. Gaines we are reminded once again!
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Summary: Not in my interest
Review: This book was not the kind of reading I like to do for relaxing or for entertainment. It was very repetitive and boring. I did not like the main character doing the same thing every day, they could have added more interesting activities. This is the only book from Oprah's Book Club that I read and it turned me off to read any more of them.
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Summary: Gaines at his best
Review: This is the story of a lost young kid wrongfully put to death in a small Louisiana town in the late 1940s. Grant is forced into visits with Jefferson by his aunt so that Jefferson can die a man, but it turns out doing both of the men good as they learn an important lesson about life - the hope in Jesus. A memorable analogy that Grant describes to Jefferson involves that of an old piece of wood turned into a slingshot by a whittler; Jefferson needs to be that old piece of wood and become something new. Of course, sometimes we are all that piece of wood and in order to become the slingshot, we have to decide on our own to do it.
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Summary: I think I missed the point.
Review: A Lesson Before Dying seemed to lack passion. I read the autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman about four years ago, and that novel really struck me. After reading this book by Gaines I feel the same emotions I felt at the beginning of the book. I know about the conflicts between the two races during the pre-civil rights era in the south, and this book seemed to follow a history textbook. I feel as though Gaines skimmed over the characters and the story. For example, the story should start point "A" which is the setting up of the characters and the history of the characters, then move onto "B" which is everything that leads up to the climax, then head over to the climax and the lesson learned in point "C". Well i feel like Gaines went from A to C. The story is about Jefferson, a black male living in LA. He is wrongfully accused of murder. When two people he was at a convience store shot the store clerk; and him, but not before the clerk killed the two boys jefferson was with. Jefferson is put on trial, and is sentenced to death by the electric chair. His lawyer argues to the jury that he is unintelligent, and a hog and therefore can not be sent to jail. How could he have planned such a crime, when he can't even count. Jefferson's godmother does not want to see him die thinking he is a hog, and makes a plead to Grant (an educated school teacher) to teach Jefferson that he is a man. Throughout this novel we have the common racial tensions, and injustices black america faced before the civil rights period in this novel, but it seemed boring and did not move me in the least. It seems as though a novel with a plot as strong as this should be able to move me out of my seat and make me feel the injustices that black america faced, but this was not the case. I was left with no lesson out of this book. The one point that I did feel from this novel is simply this: The mere fact that an individual has a college education does not make them smart. It is not a ticket for them to think they know everything about life, family or any circumstance. I think Gaines could have done more with this novel then he did. I think Grant and his girlfriend Vivian's relationship could have been written more into the book, as well as Jefferson's thoughts about people trying to help him. Overall: I would skip this one and look to Gaines' other novels. He had more than enough to work with here, but the reader is left feeling like they were not a part of the book and barely knew the characters.
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Summary: His best
Review: This is a great book, filled with compassion. I think it should be mandatory reading.
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Summary: Slow, dull, unintersting, and characterless
Review: This book never grabs your interest. The plot is a great (yet tired) idea, with limitless potential, but the author falls so short of either making the plot go anywhere, or developing any characters, that you turn page after page waiting and hoping that something will grab your interest or pull an emotional string, and all you are left with is disappointment.
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Summary: A Lesson Before Dying
Review: A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines, is a good book, that is very touching. The character, Grant Wiggins, who is the local schoolteacher, struggles with the concept of helping the man, Jefferson, who is convicted of a murder he did not commit. Jefferson's godmother wants Grant to help Jefferson become a man before he dies, but Jefferson is not very willing to listen to Grant. Grant is also not very eager to help. It is a very emotional story of the end of a life, before it is taken by the electric chair. The beginning chapters were a very good lead into the rest of the book. It was easy to understand the plot. The author easily conveyed the importance of the man, Jefferson, learning a lesson before he dies. Unlike other books, which have a slow pace to them and fail to keep the interest of most, A Lesson Before Dying is very fast paced. It makes the reader want to read it from the beginning to the end without stopping. The chapters are short, so if the reader does needs to put it down here are frequent stopping places. The length of the chapters makes the book more enjoyable. It does not seem like it takes so long to get to the end of the chapter. It also does not keep dragging on about the same thing over and over. It introduces new characters to liven up the story when the old characters seem to be getting boring. The best chapter, and the one that most touches the heart, is the chapter from Jefferson's diary. It really gives insight into how Jefferson is feeling. The diary completes the story line of the book. It was very wise of the author to include this chapter. Without it he would not have evoked the same feelings from the reader at the end. Anyone who enjoys reading sentimental books, but does not enjoy the mushy, romantic kind, would really love this book.
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Summary: A great story that was also a great read
Review: I thought ths book was one of the best ever writen about an execution. It really touched me. Because of the issued talked inside this book , it will be read for many years to some in our schools and in our homes. It should be read because it touches on racism , religon , and our love for one another. This book should be read by every one.
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Summary: Heroes in the Making
Review: Ernest J. Gaines' novel, A Lesson Before Dying exhibits a young man's transformation from believing he crawls like a hog, to believing he walks like a man. Gaines uses local color and his study of Creoles to bring the novel to life. I absolutely love this book, because it shows representation of honor and heroism in two black men, Grant Wiggins and Jefferson, in their lives in Louisiana. Grant lives metaphorically through Jefferson's imprisonment from a conviction of murder which he did not commit, and the two men struggle together to defy the unexpected and become heroes of the town. Gaines creates a hopeful tone through the novel, and he emphasizes the motif of quiet heroism to prove that faith will keep a man strong so that he may find his dignity. Gaines establishes a hopeful tone through similies, references to southern black Christianity, and motifs. The novel begins comparing his godmother to a "great stone" which represents the stable black women as support for the men. Miss Emma serves the purpose of keeping the hope alive for the young men and trying to instill faith in both of them. As Grant's aunt tries to her religion on him, he only thinks, "I didn't believe anymore and I didn't want her to try forcing it on me." His aunt never gives up, because the only way Jefferson will learn the faith is through Grant. this task seems impossible to Grant, because he knows that he cannot make a man pray if he does not pray himself. Grant needstrength, and Revernd Ambrose tries to convince him to ask God. He in forms Grant that, "you would have the strength if you had God." The novel works its way to gaines' motif of inevitable change by Grant's visits and teaching sessions to Jefferson. The change has to face the status quo and thoughts of others, including the sheriff who thinks, "Nobody can make that thing a man. Saying might as well let him go like his is." Jefferson's change from a hog to a man is compared to a butterfly and its metamorphosis. Grant wonders if there ever was a change in Jefferson, and Paul convinces him by letting him know that, "I saw the transformation. I'm a witness to that." Everyones hope helps the men in their battle against the status quo. Gaines produces a motif of quiet heroism from symbolism and references to heroes. Jackie Robinson is a hero of the times and Miss Emma presses Jefferson to be like him in that he stands like a man to become a hero. Jefferson's heroism also compares to Crist. Grant's classroom has a picture of The Last Supper which compares to Jefferson's last meal before the execution. Another picture is of Christ knocking on a door, and it represents Jefferson knocking on the door of hope and faith.Jefferson cannot be executed during Lent, because the town will not allow it. Grant remembers, "because of our state's heavily Catholic population, it might not go well to have two executions just before the beginning of Lent." Jefferson is scheduled to die between the hours of noon and three which is the time of Christ's crucifix. The town knows that a man can be humiliated and still stand from Jefferson's example. The two men learn from each other, and come to possess the quality of quiet heroism. A Lesson Before Dying is a lesson to everyone to follow their heart and always keep hope. Having hope in life and focusing on goal can make anyone a hero. This novel is a reminder that one should never lose hope, because a struggle for one man can be seen as a great victory and savior for many others. I really enjoy this novel, because it teaches valuable life lessons!
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Summary: A Legacy of Heroic Faith
Review: You must read this book twice. Read it once for general comprehension and then again for true understanding. A Lesson Before Dying is not a book, but rather an updated Bible of the 90's. It teaches the lesson of an ordinary man, more specifically a black man of the South, becoming a legacy, simply because he endured. I embody the character Jefferson. Jefferson has been accused of a crime he did not commit, murdering a store clerk and then taking money from the register. Yet, he did not know that he would be tried for a crime less apparent, the crime of being black. I understand as an African-American I will never be treated or looked at the same as a Caucasian or any other race for that matter. I can't say that at times I haven't questioned why I would be born into such hatred. But, now I have come to a universal truth and it is as follows, the color line is a line dependent on a bias mentality, the finish line is a line dependent on impartial faith. I draw this conclusion solely based on the race for equality, a race not yet won. Although I think the strongest line of all comes in Chapter 31, when the last words of Jefferson are," Tell Nannan I walked." Jefferson took steps not only towards death, but also towards freedom. He freed himself from the chains, of which we are all connected, the chain of ignorance. Jefferson endured degrading circumstances. He was confined into a tiny jail cell for months. He was isolated from friends and family. His only link to the world was his ability to write. The words he placed inside the notebook, which Grant, the schoolteacher bought him, streamed across the page like an ever-flowing river. Jefferson, a common, everyday black man took a stand not for his own personal benefit, but for the hope of equality. He refused to be another statistic in the books; he refused to be the "hog" the white man treated him as. Faith made Jefferson not only a man, but also a hero. Ernest Gaines is a heroic writer. He wrote about a time when the limits were tested and about a struggle that continues through today. The lesson I learned at sixteen years of age was a lesson for life. The lesson I learned was that faith is worth dying for.
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