A Lesson before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines is a moving, powerful novel about a black individual put on death row for a crime he did not commit. Overall, I thought the book was very inspiring and well written, but had its drawbacks. The novel is set in the 1940's, where Jefferson and two of his companions, rob a local store. Everybody was killed except Jefferson, the only man who did not fire a single shot. He is subsequently put in jail for no other reason except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is then sentenced to death by the electric chair. His loving aunt, Miss Emma, was humiliated when the juror called Jefferson a hog in public. She hires Grant Wiggins, an educated schoolteacher to help make Jefferson a man, and walk to the chair. Grant and Jefferson work together and following some minor indifferences, Jefferson walked to the chair as a man in the end. The book was top notch for the theme of heroism. The story, in my opinion, displayed two heroes, Jefferson and Grant Wiggins. Grant was a hero to Jefferson and Jefferson was a hero towards Grant and the society of Bayonne, Louisiana. Grant did what probably no people in that section of town would have done. He talked and gave Jefferson a chance to reform. That touched Jefferson deeply, knowing that some people cared for him. Jefferson was the main hero in the novel. He set an example for all people to believe in; he showed them to not be afraid. The works of Jefferson and Grant touched Ms. Emma, and Grant was so moved by Jefferson that he could not go to the execution. He was crying for Jefferson and himself when Paul told Grant it was done.
             On account of the main conflicts being internal conflicts, I found this novel slow and at times boring. Despite certain interesting details, such as the contrast of the two "heroes" of the novel (ones a well educated man who carries the hopes and dreams of his people, the other an uneducated man whom litt...