The book A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines caught my attention because of its title. When I started my research on the book I learned it was about an African American who was convicted for murder and sentenced to death, however he was innocent. I have watched various movies and documentaries about death sentences and I have always believed it should not be legal. The title of the book made me wonder who learned the lesson, either the white men who prosecuted the African American or the African American. The book will possibly talk about the faith and courage the African Americans had and how they dealt with the injustices they lived with because of their skin color.
The African American in A Lesson Before Dying is sentenced to death and he apparently fights to gain his liberty and right of living. Probably he was at the wrong place, in the wrong time. Nevertheless, since he is an African American in the 1940s his rights are denied various times. I believe in the book it will talk about the hardships of being an African American in the 1940s and how faith guides them through the hardships. I believe this book will help me understand more in depth the way African Americans and white people in the 1940s thought. Also, I want to learn the lesson too. This might be a lesson that will help me become a better person before I die and view things in a different way.
Written by: Maria Sofia Hernandez