A Lesson Before Dying
In a 1940s Louisiana courtroom, a black man is on trial for the murder of a white liquor store clerk. The accused, a young man named Jefferson, is quickly convicted and sent to wait in a cell for the day of his execution. The majority of the novel describes the interim of Jefferson's sentence, during which Grant Wiggins, a local schoolteacher, begins visiting him in prison.
A historically and culturally important book, A Lesson Before Dying explores themes of justice, identity, and faith.
Quote:
“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. ”
Author:
Ernest J. Gaines is a novelist and professor. His books include A Lesson Before Dying, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and A Gathering of Old Men. Born in 1933 in Louisiana, Gaines grew up living on land that was once a plantation, in the houses that were the slave quarters.
Published: 1993
Length: 254 pages
Set in: Louisiana, United States