Imagine being treated differently or discriminated against for having brown eyes, while everyone else has blue eyes, and even segregated or separated for being different. Do you think it would be right not to be considered human beings for not being the same as the others? Something similar happened in the United States a few decades ago. In the book of A Lesson Before Dying, by Earnest Gaines; it describes very specifically how blacks lived, and how they survived in that period of time. This book is about a black man who is sentenced to death for supposedly killing a white man and a teacher is listed to help him die with dignity. After I read the book and watched the movie, I got to a strong conclusion that the book written by Mr. Gains is astonishingly better in comparison to the movie because it is more understandable as it is written in an admirable way to persuade the readers to comprehend better the themes, and characters from every prospective in a very persuasive way.
The two main themes that are highlighted in the story are: discrimination and teaching. In the movie, racism is not well address because it doesn’t present the reality of blacks, at this period of time. In the other hand, in the novel, perfectly describes the truly emotions of the characters; their challenges and how they conquer those discriminations. Discrimination is wholly addressed in the book with a complete chapter and multiple scenarios of concrete examples: separated but equal societies, schools, neighborhoods, stores, and even morgue services. In the contrary, the movie shows a few illustrations of black characters as Grant, and Jefferson being reminded they were black, whether they were in jail or were educated. For instance, at the beginning, Grant is forced, by guiltiness from his aunt and from Miss Emma to visit Jefferson, who is sentenced to die for the death of a white man; act which he didn’t committed, but had to pay for.