Although Gaines uses first-person narration (the story is told from Grant's perspective), readers are not limited to Grant's point of view. Gaines has said that using a narrator who reports events as others reveal them (note Grant's oft-repeated remark, "I learned later . . .") is one of the narrative devices he uses to get inside his characters' heads without resorting to omniscient (third-person) narration. Much of the action in the novel occurs on a psychological rather than a physical level. Although we "hear" Grant's voice, the novel is ultimately Jefferson's story.While the story of Lesson focuses on Jefferson's trial and execution, the plot focuses on the struggles of poor, oppressed people to gain a measure of pride and dignity within a hostile, racist environment. The novel begins with Jefferson's trial, moves briefly back into the immediate past to reconstruct the events surrounding Alcee Gropé's murder, and then moves relentlessly forward, culminating in Jefferson's......

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Title: A Lesson Befor Dying
Approximate Word Count: 417
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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