A Lesson Before Dying
Week One
Jefferson is wrongly accused of doing something he didn't do. He will be executed but before he is executed he wants to prove that he is not a "hog". Grant is called to help teach Jefferson.
Title: A Lesson Before Dying & Ernest J. Gaines
Protagonist: Grant Wiggins
Major Characters: Jefferson, Tante Lou, Miss Emma
Point of View: First Person
Setting: 1940s Bayonne, Louisiana
Tone:
Irony:
Symbols: The notebook makes Jefferson think seriously about his life. Grant giving Jefferson the notebook symbolizes Grant's desire to help and teach Jefferson. The church symbolizes the hope that society will change.
Theme:
Week Two
4x4:
My name is Jefferson
Accused of killing others
I'm not a hog
Will prove them wrong
A Lesson Before Dying
A man wrongly accused
Death by electric chair
Must make a change
Educated man named Grant
Must share his knowledge
School for colored children
Will change their lives
Grant loves girlfriend, Vivian
Vivian's getting a divorce
Grant stays for Vivian
Both compromise for relationship
Accused of killing others
I'm not a hog
Will prove them wrong
A Lesson Before Dying
A man wrongly accused
Death by electric chair
Must make a change
Educated man named Grant
Must share his knowledge
School for colored children
Will change their lives
Grant loves girlfriend, Vivian
Vivian's getting a divorce
Grant stays for Vivian
Both compromise for relationship
In the book A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson must deal with conflicts. First, he went to a liquor store with his friends. Then, three people (Jefferson’s two friends and the storeowner) were killed in a shootout. He then takes the money and is caught leaving the store, but is unjustly accused of killing the three people. At the trial, his lawyer compares him to a hog, which makes him believe that he is powerless and nothing better than a hog. He is sentenced to death by an electric chair. He must prove eveyone wrong before he dies, which is when Grants comes in and helps, but he thinks it will be impossible.