Jefferson was an unlucky man. He was wrongly convicted of a murder and a robbery that he witnessed and was sentenced to death by electrocution. During his trial, his lawyer compares him to a hog that isn’t worth killing and he takes it to heart. He stops acting like a man and instead acts like an untamed hog. He calls himself a hog and believes his worth is equal to that of a hog. His worried Aunt, Miss Emma, asks one of the only educated black men around, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson and teach him to be a man again. At first the visits are unsuccessful but when the execution date is set, Jefferson starts to act less animal like. On his next visit, Grant gives Jefferson a radio and a notebook to write down his thoughts. The connection
Their bond developed strong when they spent a lot of time in the jail cell together and when Grant told him what his definition of a hero was. Through community experiences and care that was received from ladies, both Jefferson and Grant were able to gain a new lens on their lives and the world around
Grant did his best to teach Jefferson that he had worth and it paid off. “If I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Strab me like a hog? More erasing, then: Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs” (220). This quote demonstrates how Grant made a difference in Jefferson’s life and taught him to be a man of self worth.
Chapters nine through twelve was all about Jefferson’s experience in the jail cell and his relationship with Grant. The visits lasted an hour and were short, quiet, and very somber. Miss Emma typically visited Jefferson with Grant. Miss Emma and Jefferson’s aunt will always bring food because food is love in the south. Food can show how much compassion you have for someone, food is private.
Jefferson was no hog but a man. The jury didn’t see him as a man or even a person, but a hog. The man who was defending the other people said “But let us say he was not. Let us for a moment say he was not. What justice, gentlemen.
He ends up dying for them and he dies a hero. This theme is also displayed in A Lesson Before Dying. Jefferson is accused of murder and robbery. He
(Brown 345) Jefferson is later on convicted of the crime and is sentenced to death by electrocution of the chair, which leaves his family stunned by amazement. “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this. ”(Gaines
His attorney had just called him a hog, told the judge that Jefferson was not competent enough to be able to plan this theft and murder, and that Jefferson was only someone 's property.
The reason why Grant, the main character in one of Mr. Ernest J. Gaines’s best work A Lesson Before Dying, does not attend Jefferson’s execution is because he is afraid of seeing his lack in acting like a man with dignity and more importantly, seeing what all black men around them have become reflecting in Jefferson. In the short 250-paged novel, we come across a few common issues that still linger in today’s society; racism and diffidence, both in which the two main characters -Grant and Jefferson- suffer from. Self-doubt and uncertainty in oneself was frequently detectable, even in the 1930’s; how the white people portrayed the black and how little they made them feel was a big cause of it. Sadly enough, Jefferson shows that he was never
In A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, the author employs Jefferson as a hog to contribute to the themes and characters by dehumanizing a person far beyond what is morally acceptable.
Grant’s girlfriend, Vivian, provides the support he needs to keep him from eluding his problems. Women in this novel play an influential part as a bridge to success in men’s lives, as Tante Lou and Vivian secure Grant 's role in the community, and as Miss Emma encourages Jefferson to die as a man. Even as Jefferson doubts the existing love for him, Miss Emma remains an influence in making him a man by going to many extents. From start to finish, she had always been the strong will who wanted the wellbeing of her godson. Knowing that the fate of her son was execution, she refused to let him die as a hog.
This is shown throughout the novel by showing that in the beginning of the novel, Grant wants nothing to do with Jefferson and his situation. As the book continues, he realizes that Jefferson is a human too and that he needs to realize how good he has it compared to some people. In the beginning of A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins struggles with accepting his responsibilities. This is shown in multiple examples. The two examples used in this paper were when Grant avoids all of his responsibilities and does not want anything to do with Jefferson.
He claims nothing matters and doesn’t want to talk or eat. Jefferson has a very low sense of self-worth, this is connected to the way he was treated at his trial, but also probably his whole life growing up in a racially segregated town. Jefferson believes he may really be no better than a hog, just like his lawyer stated during his trial. He states, “’I’m a old hog…Just a old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas” (83 Gaines). Jefferson believes the idea that he is less human than a white person and has become obsessive with the idea he is no better than a
For example, in a discussion between Grant and Jefferson they state, “’That’s for youmans,’ he said. ‘You’re a human being, Jefferson,’ I said. I’m a old hog…” (83 Gaines). Therefore, one of the main ways that the defense attorney’s statement is echoed throughout the book, is through Jefferson’s discussions with visitors in prison.
83 Here, Jefferson claims that he truly is a hog which indicates a conflict
Grant has gone to a University and is now a teacher in the quarter where he grew up. To his community, Grant is the most educated person in the quarter and is constantly being admired by them. Most of the admiration comes from Miss Emma in hopes that Grant can transform Jefferson into a man before he is executed. Miss Emma states, “I want the teacher visit my boy. I want the teacher make him know he’s not a hog, he’s a man” (pg.