A Lesson before Dying

 
A Lesson Before Dying
Ernest J. Gaines
256 pages

Summary: Amazon.com
("A Lesson Before Dying (Oprah's Book Club)." Amazon.com. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-Before-Dying-Oprahs-Book/dp/0375702709>.)

 A Lesson Before Dying, is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940s.  Jefferson, a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shoot out in which three men are killed; the only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.  Grant Wiggins, who left his hometown for the university, has returned to the plantation school to teach.  As he struggles with his decision whether to stay or escape to another state, his aunt and Jefferson's godmother persuade him to visit Jefferson in his cell and impart his learning and his pride to Jefferson before his death.  In the end, the two men forge a bond as they both come to understand the simple heroism of resisting—and defying—the expected.

Ernest J. Gaines brings to this novel the same rich sense of place, the same deep understanding of the human psyche, and the same compassion for a people and their struggle that have unformed his previous, highly praised works of fiction.

 My Opinion:
This book was interesting. Jefferson's death was inevitable, so pretty much the only conflict in the book was Jefferson's thinking and Grant's thinking. Now let me tell you I really dislike Grant. His pessimistic, almost depressed, egoistical attitude got on my nerves. He didn't seem to truly care about other human beings beside himself, not even Vivian. His perspective on things was also very narrow-minded and closed-minded. I really wonder how Tante Lou was able to put up with him for so many years. My big question is how old Grant is? It was never explained; I suspect more than 20. Grant didn't deserve Vivian and she could do so much better. Grant never even told us more about Vivian's children. What were their names and ages? All these questions that wont be answered.Now about the Reverend Ambrose, i like that he wanted to save Jefferson's soul, but his approach was atrocious. He seemed so fake. Most of the men in this book didn't understand tact and other simple things about interacting with others. Miss Emma, Vivian, and Tante Lou needed more chapters diverted to them and their strong wills. They seemed like fabulous people and Strong Independent Black Women, although Tante Lou and Miss Emma's view on mulattoes was uncalled for in my opinion. If you took out all the complexities of the characters or just the characters in general, the symbolism in this book was beautiful. I can relate to some of the issues in 2014. The Mulatto vs. African American is now light skinned vs. dark-skinned. The vicious cycle for black men is still jail or death. The thing between church and atheism will always be around. Ernest J. Gaines went in deep for this book; he made me think. I cant say i thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I can say i didn't hate it like some of the other school books I have been forced to read.

*When i say mulatto, i am only using the term from the book. In regular everyday language, i would say mixed and it wouldn't be in a negative manner.*

p.s. My class is watching the movie and it is way different from the book, but a lot of the actors are well-known and famous. It also seems like i have seen it before.