A Lesson before Dying/The Green Mile by Ernest J. Gaines/Stephen King

A Lesson before Dying, as told by Grant Wiggins, is the process of two black men rising to true manhood in the South in the 1940s. Jefferson is a convicted killer facing the death penalty. His odyssey has as its purpose to disprove the myth that he is no better than a hog. In the end, he faces death with dignity and courage. Wiggins, a college-educated teacher, instructs Jefferson on how to achieve dignity. Both Wiggins and Jefferson face the life struggles of pain, courage, and racism. This is a story of the triumph of the spirit. Lessons stress the brotherhood of humanity, each person’s obligation to that brotherhood, good vs. evil, compassion for fellow humans, and connection to one’s roots.

The Green Mile, an imitation of Charles Dickens’s serialized novel writing of the 1800s, was originally presented in the form of six consecutively-published paperbacks. A supernatural tale of good and evil at a Louisiana prison’s death row during the Great Depression, prison guard and narrator, Paul Edgecombe recalls the execution of wrongly-convicted John Coffey. Edgecombe’s recollection illustrates truth, the forces of good and evil, death, and endurance of the most difficult circumstances.

About the Series:

Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.