Bibliography
Course Hero. "A Lesson Before Dying Study Guide." Course Hero. 2 Oct. 2017. Web. 5 June 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Lesson-Before-Dying/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2017, October 2). A Lesson Before Dying Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved June 5, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Lesson-Before-Dying/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "A Lesson Before Dying Study Guide." October 2, 2017. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Lesson-Before-Dying/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "A Lesson Before Dying Study Guide," October 2, 2017, accessed June 5, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Lesson-Before-Dying/.
Two men offer Jefferson a ride, and then provoke a gunfight, killing both men and a white storekeeper.
Chapter 1After his attorney insults him, Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Chapter 1Grant Wiggins learns Miss Emma and Tante Lou expect him to teach Jefferson to die with dignity.
Chapter 2At the Rainbow Club, Vivian Baptiste convinces Grant Wiggins he must work with Jefferson.
Chapter 4At Henri Pichot's home, Sherriff Guidry gives Grant Wiggins permission to visit Jefferson in jail.
Chapter 6Grant Wiggins and Emma visit Jefferson, who is angry, quiet, and worried about when he will die.
Chapter 9Grant visits Jefferson, who eats off the floor like a hog. Grant plans to keep this from Miss Emma.
Chapter 11Grant speaks of moral obligation to a shackled Jefferson, who says he's a hog sick of waiting.
Chapter 18The execution is set for the second Friday after Easter. Grant refuses to face Emma with the news.
Chapter 20Grant tells Vivian his people want him as their hero, but only Jefferson can be the hero they need.
Chapter 21Grant decides a radio would help Jefferson cope, and the community pitches in to buy one.
Chapter 22Jefferson plays the radio constantly. Grant feels deep joy when Jefferson expresses gratitude.
Chapter 23Grant tells Jefferson he can be a hero by standing and revealing the lie of white supremacy.
Chapter 24Grant starts a vicious bar fight with a mulatto who was making racist slanders against Jefferson.
Chapter 25Disgusted about the fight, Vivian says love is consideration, which Grant fails to show her.
Chapter 26Reverend Mose Ambrose asks Grant to help him convince Jefferson to accept salvation.
Chapter 27Jefferson says he feels fully human and will do his best to carry everyone's cross.
Chapter 28Jefferson is calm as they shave him for the chair. Its very public arrival galvanizes the town.
Chapter 30Paul Bonin tells of Jefferson's bravery, gives Grant the notebook, and asks for his friendship.
Chapter 31| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Set in rural pre-civil rights era Louisiana, the plot of A Lesson Before Dying centers on the relationship between two b... Read More |
| Chapter 2 | Grant Wiggins lives on the plantation in his aunt's (Tante Lou) house. The afternoon of Jefferson's trial, he comes home... Read More |
| Chapter 3 | Resentfully, Grant Wiggins drives Miss Emma and Tante Lou to Henri Pichot's "large white and gray antebellum" house, par... Read More |
| Chapter 4 | After leaving Henri Pichot's house, Grant Wiggins refuses his aunt's cooking and drives 13 miles to Bayonne. His girlfri... Read More |
| Chapter 5 | The following day, Grant Wiggins's students, who range from age 6 to 14, pledge allegiance to the flag and recite their ... Read More |
| Chapter 6 | After school Grant Wiggins goes to Henri Pichot's house. Inez lets him into the kitchen, crying. Sheriff Guidry will be ... Read More |
| Chapter 7 | In preparation for superintendent Dr. Joseph Morgan's annual visit, Grant Wiggins drills his students in sitting and sta... Read More |
| Chapter 8 | The school receives its first load of wood for the woodstove. Henry Lewis and Amos Thomas, who work with obvious enjoyme... Read More |
| Chapter 9 | Grant Wiggins drives Miss Emma to Bayonne to visit Jefferson in jail. The courthouse resembles a European castle, and a ... Read More |
| Chapter 10 | The narrative skips in time to the day Grant Wiggins is preparing to make his fourth visit with Miss Emma to see Jeffers... Read More |
| Chapter 11 | At the courthouse, Sheriff Guidry asks Grant Wiggins dubiously, "Still think you can get something into that head of his... Read More |
| Chapter 12 | Grant Wiggins goes to the Rainbow Club to think of a lie to tell Miss Emma about the visit he just had with Jefferson in... Read More |
| Chapter 13 | The following Sunday Grant Wiggins struggles to concentrate on grading because the singing from the church is loud and d... Read More |
| Chapter 14 | Grant Wiggins, as narrator, describes his room, which has photos of Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Booker T. W... Read More |
| Chapter 15 | Church is over, and Vivian Baptiste is hesitant to meet Tante Lou, whom she wants to like her. Her own family rejected h... Read More |
| Chapter 16 | The next day at school Grant Wiggins and his students plan their Christmas program. He wants them to find a pine tree, n... Read More |
| Chapter 17 | When Grant Wiggins goes to the courthouse on Friday, he decides to get a better sense of the deputy Paul Bonin by asking... Read More |
| Chapter 18 | On Monday, Miss Emma, Reverend Mose Ambrose, and Tante Lou go to the prison and Emma sets the table in the dayroom. Jeff... Read More |
| Chapter 19 | Despite rain, there is a big turnout at the school Christmas program, which is dedicated to Jefferson. The set is makesh... Read More |
| Chapter 20 | In late February Farrell Jarreau summons Grant Wiggins from the classroom to Henri Pichot's house, saying "That boy ... ... Read More |
| Chapter 21 | After walking for hours, Grant Wiggins arrives at Miss Emma's and finds her sick in bed. She is being attended to by Rev... Read More |
| Chapter 22 | Grant Wiggins is the first to visit Jefferson since the execution date was announced. He can tell Paul Bonin is uncomfor... Read More |
| Chapter 23 | The following week, Miss Emma, Tante Lou and Reverend Mose Ambrose visit Jefferson. They are forced to meet in the cell,... Read More |
| Chapter 24 | Miss Emma wants Grant Wiggins to visit Jefferson with her, Tante Lou, and Reverend Mose Ambrose, and Grant reluctantly c... Read More |
| Chapter 25 | Full of optimism and wanting to tell Vivian about his recent visit with Jefferson, Grant Wiggins goes to the Rainbow Clu... Read More |
| Chapter 26 | Back at her house Vivian Baptiste tells Grant Wiggins Joe Claiborne knocked him out with his gun because Grant wouldn't ... Read More |
| Chapter 27 | Less than three weeks before the execution, Reverend Mose Ambrose comes to Grant Wiggins and asks for his help in saving... Read More |
| Chapter 28 | Grant Wiggins visits Jefferson the day before Good Friday. He reads in Jefferson's journal a description of his dream: "... Read More |
| Chapter 29 | This chapter consists of Jefferson's diary, which he addresses to "Mr. Wiggins" and ends "sincerely jefferson." Having n... Read More |
| Chapter 30 | The night before the execution, instead of staying with Miss Emma like many members of the community, Grant Wiggins goes... Read More |
| Chapter 31 | The day of the execution, Grant Wiggins tells his students they will kneel beginning at noon and remain kneeling until h... Read More |
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