Ernest J. Gaines

A Lesson Before Dying

Regan O’Neill

This book was a pleasant surprise. I had to read for it an assignment and found it rather boring in the beginning. Grant’s daily life seemed rather dull, but as the story wore on, his narration helped to depict the prejudice of white Americans towards the black community.
Despite the monotonous nature of the first hundred pages, the last section of the novel pleasantly surprised me. The author’s use of symbolism made me really think about what Grant’s community had to go through each day. Paul’s viewpoint showed that people were willing to change. Each character’s life helped to show a different aspect and point of view of the experiences of people affected by racism.
This book will truly make you take a double take and help give a great insight into the 40s and the experience of a black man. This is by far my favorite book I’ve read for class.

Aurora Corbett

It was a summer reading book that I actually enjoyed reading.

Daryl Houston

I'm not sure what to say about this one. There are pretty obvious parallels to Wright's Native Son, but I've read that Gaines has shrugged off any kinship of his work to Wright's. It was, as the back cover says, moving. It made me feel ashamed to be a white man with the white man's legacy, but in the end there seems to be a sort of hope (if not one that racism in America in recent years has borne out). It strikes me as an important book.

A Lesson Before Dying

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