1998-1999
A Lesson Before Dying
by
Ernest J. Gaines

Set in a small Louisiana Cajun community in the late 1940's, A Lesson Before Dying confronts the issues of death, dignity, and racism. Jefferson, unjustly accused of the murder of a white man, must die in the electric chair. Grant Wiggins, who grew up on the same plantation as Jefferson did but left to attend college, has returned to his home to teach in the plantation school. Unhappy with his job but unable to leave, Grant finds himself confronted with the task of teaching Jefferson to be a man. Unsure what a man is himself, Grant struggles with Jefferson to discern the purpose of life, the relevance of God and an afterlife, and the meaning of dignity in death.  (Adapted from A Lesson in Dying)

Ernest J. Gaines was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, near New Roads, Louisiana, which is the Bayonne of all his fictional works. His previous books include A Gathering of Old Men, In My Father's House, A Long Day in November, The Auto-biography of Miss Jane Pittman, Bloodline, Of Love and Dust, and Catherine Carmier. He divides his time between San Francisco and the University of Louisiana, in Lafayette, where he is writer-in-residence. (Taken from A Lesson in Dying)

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