5/23: Open a google doc, share it with me and call it: "Book # 1 end." In the document, list questions, comments, ideas you want to bring to group. Then, choose one aspect of the novel/extra materials that sharpened your thinking about something you've been exploring in the novel - character development and its catalysts, identity and who has the power to shape it, American ideals and the limits of living up to them, etc. Write about that idea, paying particular attention to your takeaways from the end of the novel.
Resources for A Lesson Before Dying (please read/listen to/watch 2 of the following before book groups on Wednesday): Bryan Stevenson's TED Talk (1/2 hour), Michelle Alexander on Jim Crow and prisons (35 minutes). "Lesson Before Dying- Execution of Willie Francis" (attached below) is about a real life case that Gaines used as part of his inspiration for the novel. James Baldwin debates William F Buckley about whether the American Dream is at the expense of black Americans (there's a transcript with this video. Baldwin begins at 13:47), Caught is a podcast series about the juvenile justice system now, Choose any of the first three episodes to listen to (scroll down on the page to find the first three - each is about 1/2 hour long), an essay by Ernest Gaines about writing the novel (attached below "Gaines_Writing_A_Lesson_Before_Dying_1_.pdf"), analysis of the disparity between black and white marijuana users. IF this book has sparked your interest about prison reform (and I really, really hope it has), this is a terrific conversation about reform with a conservative and a liberal listening to each other, disagreeing respectfully and finding common ground (both men have served time in prison).
4/30: HOMEWORK: First - write a reflection (at least a page) in your journals about the group meeting - what did you learn, what new understandings do you have, what questions do you have, what do you predict, etc.? Make sure you read for Friday.
Begin class by writing about what you read for today. Write about what you were thinking about, what questions/insights/ideas you had that you want to talk about, etc. Meet in groups and talk - answer questions, share ideas, etc. Talk, too, about a reading schedule for this week (group will meet again on Friday).