A Lesson Before Dying

1. Where does this novel take place?

2. Why did Grant refuse to go to the trial?

3. Why does Jefferson say he took the money from the cash register?

4. What reason does Jefferson’s lawyer give for sparing Jefferson’s life?

5. What is Miss Emma’s relation to Jefferson?

6. What does Grant Wiggins teach?

7. Where is Grant’s school located?

8. What does Louis Rougon want to bet Henri Pichot when Grant visits the Pichot house for the second time?

9. Why is Vivian reluctant to spend the night with Grant?

10. Why does Miss Emma hit Jefferson during her visit to his cell?

11. Why does Miss Emma want to meet with Jefferson in the dayroom?

12. Why didn’t Vivian’s family like her husband?

13. What event directly follows the superintendent’s visit?

14. How does Grant gather enough money to buy Jefferson a radio?

15. How do Tante Lou and Miss Emma get Grant to visit Jefferson alone?

16. Sheriff Guidry warns Grant that he will lose his visiting privileges if which of the following happens?

17. What do Grant’s students send Jefferson?

18. At the Christmas program, Reverend Ambrose makes a subtle reference to which of the following?

19. Why does Grant get in a fight with two mulatto men in a bar?

20. Jefferson admits to Grant that he would like his last meal to be which of the following?

21. How does Grant get Jefferson’s notebook?

22. How does the chair arrive at the courthouse?

23. What does the sheriff do the morning of Jefferson’s execution?

24. Who shaves Jefferson before the execution?

25. Who informs Grant that the execution is over?