61 pages 2 hours read

Ernest J. Gaines

A Lesson Before Dying

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993

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Chapters 22-24

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 22 Summary

Grant goes to the jail, and Paul reluctantly searches him and then asks him if he wants to meet with Jefferson alone in his cell now that Jefferson knows his execution date. When Grant gets to the cell, Jefferson is lying down on the bunk looking at the ceiling. Grant tells him that he can bring him things, and Jefferson declares that he wants a gallon of vanilla ice cream that he will plan to eat as a last meal. He explains that he has never been able to get enough ice cream in his life.

Jefferson thinks of hunting with Gable, which is what he was supposed to do later on the day he got arrested. Grant talks to him about music and agrees to bring Jefferson a small radio next time he visits. When Paul asks how the visit went, Grant tells him it was the best one yet. Grant goes to the Rainbow Club and tells the staff about his plans to buy Jefferson a radio, and they give Grant the 20 dollars he needs. Grant goes to the local department store to purchase the radio, and a white saleswoman tries to convince him to get the used floor model instead.

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