Lesson Before Dying

A Lesson Before Dying
A Lesson Before Dying (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback)
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 will I think that the book this could have been titled a lesson for us all.
    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 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 syste 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.
Referal :  John Zittel