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A Lesson Before Dying
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"A Lesson Before Dying" Quotes

A young black man in 1940s Louisiana is wrongly convicted of murder and learns to confront his impending execution with dignity.

Quotes

I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be.

Ernest J. Gaines

inspirationpotential

I'm not the teacher. I'm a friend trying to help a friend.

Ernest J. Gaines

friendshipsupport

I want you to promise me that you will not let them kill me twice.

Ernest J. Gaines

justicehope

I don’t want them to kill nobody else, no matter who they are.

Ernest J. Gaines

justiceequality

You can be anything you want to be.

Ernest J. Gaines

potentialself-belief

I don't want them to make no hog out of me.

Ernest J. Gaines

dignityself-respect

I want you to tell them to let me go. I want you to promise me that.

Ernest J. Gaines

hopefreedom

We must live with our own conscience.

Ernest J. Gaines

conscienceresponsibility

I don’t want to go to my grave with nobody else’s dirt on my back.

Ernest J. Gaines

integritycleanliness

I'm a man, and I want to die like a man.

Ernest J. Gaines

dignitycourage