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A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
First off i would like to say that I was suprised that a classical book would trigger my individual book taste...but i was truly impressed. I loved this book, and suggest everyone read it. It is a story of a misaccusted young black youth who by being at the wrong place wrong time, must die in jail. Coming from a very respectable family they wish him to be visited by a teacher...in hope that he can die like a man. They give the unwilling teacher the great responsibility of opening a young man's eyes and heart, and teach him that he (a black boy) is much more than what white society may view him as. In the end the boy is able to possess integrity, strength, faith, and pride although fate has short future for him. Defanantly a beautiful and soul-fufilling book.
A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
Among the "must read" novels of all times, "A Lesson Before Dying" ranks at the very top of the list in that literary category. It is the type of reading that expands the bounds of the mind, strokes the soul, and tugs at the heart strings. At its conclusion you are left with a plethora of emotions and thoughts that linger for days and remain in your repertory of thought forever. It's one of those novels that you read and say,"Unbelieveable" as you wonder, when will the sequel be published? Ernest Gaines truly solidifies his position as one of the greatest writers ever with this novel.Gains transports you back to a time when the lines between justice and injustice, right and wrong, fair and unfair are obscured and ultimately crossed and broken by race, socio-economic status, prejudice and segregation. The reader is drawn into the lives of the characters on an intimate level through Gaines' masterful dialogue and vivid descriptive details. This is a novel that challenges the idea of "accepting the things you cannot change" and places a very original spin on the concept of "dying with dignity.""A Lesson before Dying" is a story that unfolds around the main character's final months on death row after being falsely accused of killing a white store owner during a time when the color of one's skin dictated just how "blind" justice will be. The lessons and realizations he, and those persons who hold a significant place in his life, must come to grips with before his death are heart-wrenching and life-altering.From the teacher who, under great duress, is forceably assigned the awesome task of "teaching" the main character the "lesson," to the reverend who collaborates with the teacher but from a completely different viewpoint on how the "lesson" should be taught, and the various other characters that vicariously impact upon and influenced the way in which the main character internalizes his plight, each of these characters are left with "lessons" that escalate to the riveting conclusion of this story. Ultimately each of these pivotal characters' lives are altered as a direct and proximate result of the main character's death sentence and the manner in which he learns to die with dignity.This is a story about self-respect, self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-esteem and self-defeat. It is a story of family, friends, authorities, and enemies and how they are integrally entwined to shape each other's lives. Written in a time when the constraints of racism and economic status divided and at the same time, drew together a community whose heartbeat came to pulsate in conjunction with the heart beat of the main character. Reading this novel in and of itself will prove to be "A Lesson" of memorable magnitude.
A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
A Lesson Before Dying, written by Ernest J. Gaines illustrates the struggle of a highly segregated community and the death of an innocent man. The novel is somewhat slow at the start but is appealing to those who enjoy rich character development. The story takes place during the 1940s on a small sugarcane plantation in Louisianna. Jefferson, a young black man, is falsely accused of killing two white men and is sentenced to execution in the electric chair. Miss Emma, Jefferson's aunt, hopes for Jefferson to accept his responsiblitities and not run away from them. Before she dies she wants to see the black man stand for her. She plans to accomplish this by using Grant Wiggins, an educated school teacher, for the job. Throughout the course of the novel, Grant makes many visits to the jailhouse to talk with Jefferson. This point in the novel is where I began to lose interest because the numerous visits are drawn and the same conversation among the characters is repeated in every visit. Miss Emma wants Grant to teach Jefferson how to break the cycle of the community and to rise above, "this vicious circle." as Grant Wiggins put it. Grant decribes the cycle of the community by stating that each time a male child is born, the people hope this child will be the one to change the vicious circle. Miss Emma believes that both Grant and Jefferson can break this cycle by encouraging Jefferson to walk up to the chair and stand as the tallest and the bravest man in the room. This novel is not only about Jefferson's development into a man before his death, but also about the development of an entire community including Grant Wiggins. I recommend this book only to those who don't mind a slow novel but enjoy reading the transformation in a deprived community.
A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
Without a doubt, this is one of the finest pieces of literature I have ever read. It should be used in literature classes to exemplify the art of character development.
A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
i noticed that the teenagers found this book too slow, too boring, too unrealistic......too bad most of them that read it did not have the maturity to actually expand beyond the pages of this book. (my 15 year old would probably not like it either) i found it very honest...very real....and one that makes me more aware of the prejudices that we have all grown up with and are exposed to on a daily basis. well written....
A Lesson Before Dying (Library Edition Audio CDs) (Audio Theatre Collection)
The quotes I have chosen are based on the characteristics of Jefferson. The quotes are based upon what he believes and how he feels.Jefferson was in his twenties when he was sentenced to death by electrocution because of a murder of a store owner and two brothers. Jefferson had no idea of what he had done to put himself in this position. Before his death he was sent to the Bayonne Jail to wait for that one day. The waiting period is known to be the worst part of the sentencing. The reason for that is that the authorities believe that is the time period they have to think about what they have done and how they can get out of the situation or even find a way to be forgiven for the pain it caused the loved ones. In jail Jefferson did not talk to anyone at first. When he did start talking to people, particularly Grant, he would respond in short and non-emotional answers. One of the answers he seemed to give often was. "I'm all right." Jefferson stated. (Pg. 169)Religion is important to most people especially the people of Bayonne and at the quarter, where the godmother of Jefferson had lived all of her life and that was where Jefferson was raised. Reverend Ambrose was the person who helped the people if they had trouble believing in what was right and wrong or not knowing who or what is right to do in situations that you feel you need someone there for you. Jefferson knew that there were a God and a heaven, but did not feel there was a reason he believed he would get to heaven. He was not sure when Jesus died and when he rose from the dead, but the fact that he knew he had died and rose is enough to know Jesus did exist and is in the heart and mind of Jefferson. "Tomorrow is Good Friday." Grant said, and then Jefferson asked "That's when He rose?" (Pg. 221)The feeling of death is nothing to the mind of a man that is on death row. Jefferson was sentenced to death by electrocution. Jefferson felt depressed, but did not show any sign of feeling because of the thought of what he could do to make up for what he did. He did not eat or take care of himself either because he had no feeling of remorse, guilt, or even madness. He acted like he did not care anymore and did not want anything to do with his own family or help that his family had gotten for him. The night before the execution he could not sleep and wrote in his notebook that Grant had got him. The thing that Jefferson had done was repressed his feelings of the deaths of the store owner and the two brothers. Then at the last moment of his life he took time to listen to his heart and feel pain because he would not feel anything else after that moment. Jefferson wrote "its quite quite an i can yer my teefs hitin an i can yer my hart." (Pg. 233)Gaines, Ernest. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1993