As part of his so-called defense strategy, Jefferson's attorney refers to his client as "it" and contends that this "thing" is incapable of knowing right from wrong and lacks the intelligence to have planned the robbery.
In Chapter 1, Jefferson's defense attorney asks the jury to spare -Jefferson's life by implying it would be cruel to kill a man no more intelligent or moral than a hog. He voices the ugly belief, held by many whites, that blacks are animals.
Grant says that Jefferson's attorney defended Jefferson by insisting that he is a boy and a fool, and therefore incapable of planning the robbery and murder. The attorney said he would rather put a hog in the electric chair than such a mindless individual.
When Jefferson’s lawyer defends Jefferson by likening him to a mindless hog, Jefferson becomes terrified and infuriated, obsessed by the possibility that he really is no better than a hog. He rages in his cell, mimicking a hog’s behavior and jeering at his friends and family, or refusing to speak to them.
Why does Jefferson ask if Grant has brought corn for his meal? Jefferson said "that's what hog's eat," since Jefferson was compared to a hog. What argument does Grant try with Jefferson to get him to eat, talk, and try to get through this ordeal with dignity? He's not a hog, he's a man, specifically, a human being.
During the second third of the novel Jefferson starts to express his feeling about what will happen. Jefferson expresses his anger of being called a “hog” by saying he is and acting like one. He says “ Im an old hog. Just an old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas”(83).
The attorney paints a picture of Jefferson that Grant, Emma, and Reverend Ambrose spend the remainder of the novel refuting: he calls Jefferson an animal and a “hog,” and tries to convince the jury to spare his life on the grounds that it's immoral to kill a mere animal.
Grant offers to bring Jefferson a little notebook so that he can write down any thoughts that come to his mind, and Jefferson agrees to the plan. As Grant leaves, Jefferson asks him with some hesitation to thank the children for the nuts. Grant is overjoyed, and he feels as if he has found religion.
Basically, the hog symbolizes all the freaking horrible, awful, messed-up thinking that went into slavery in the first place… and then persisted in the form of Jim Crow laws and racism. But Jefferson ultimately rises above thinking of himself as a hog.
Q. What does Grant say to challenge Jefferson's idea that he is a hog? Hogs have a rich life, for they are more intelligent that we give them credit.
Grant says that Jefferson's attorney defended Jefferson by insisting that he is a boy and a fool, and therefore incapable of planning the robbery and murder.
4. What reason does Jefferson's lawyer give for sparing Jefferson's life? He did not intend to kill anyone. The children of the town should not have to witness an execution.
The hog symbolizes how the African-American characters are regarded as dirty animals. Grant works to transform the public's opinion of Jefferson, encouraging people to think of the man as a human being, rather than a lowly animal.
Grant tells Jefferson that he must give up material possessions and strive to make Miss Emma happy before he dies. He tells Jefferson that he believes in God, and that he believes that God makes people love one another.
When he arrives, Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and the reverend accuse him of endangering Jefferson's soul by bringing him the radio, which the reverend refers to as a "sin box." Grant tells them that Jefferson needs the radio to help him keep his mind off his impending death, and the two men argue about the merits of saving ...
Grant tells Jefferson that he himself is not a hero because he goes along with the unfair system, and that white people feel safe because he doesn't stand up to them. He tries to get Jefferson to stand up to them and prove them all wrong. Grant needs Jefferson because he needs hope. Jefferson starts crying.
In Chapter 3, Gaines uses various methods to illustrate that the past is alive in the present, and that the legacy of slavery still impacts black/white relationships. Grant is humiliated by having to enter Pichot's house through the back door and being forced to address Pichot as "sir.".
While Miss Emma's "immobility" implies that her movements have been severely restricted, it also alludes to the old Negro spiritual "I Shall Not Be Moved" and to the biblical image of Jesus as the "rock" of salvation. (We later discover that both Miss Emma and Tante Lou are devoutly religious.)
There is also the suggestion of the death of Grant's faith in God and in himself. Miss Emma, however, embraces life and is determined to do what she can to effect a change. What's more, she is confident that Grant can make Jefferson a man because, as she points out matter-of-factly, "You the teacher.".
In short, the attorney's reference to Jefferson as a "hog" is much more than a cruel insult; it is a classic example of dehumanizing language that symbolizes the attitude of racist whites toward blacks.
Also note that one of Bayonne's major economic industries is a slaughterhouse, "mostly for hogs," and that the primary landmark for the black community (from Grant's perspective) is the Rainbow Club, with its "green, yellow, and red arched neon lights" (the colors of the African Liberation Flag).
On Monday morning, Miss Emma and Tante Lou are back in court, along with Rev. Mose Ambrose, the local pastor. When Jefferson is brought before the judge and asked if he has anything to say prior to his sentencing, he hangs his head and declines to speak.
Among those in attendance are Miss Emma, Jefferson's godmother, and Tante Lou, Grant's aunt.
When Jefferson’s lawyer defends Jefferson by likening him to a mindless hog, Jefferson becomes terrified and infuriated, obsessed by the possibility that he really is no better than a hog.
A Lesson Before Dying. The novel centers around Jefferson’s unjust conviction and his friends’ attempts to help him die with human dignity. A relatively simple man, Jefferson has spent his entire life on the plantation, working for poor wages. He has always worked without protest, believing that his place in the world is a lowly one.
Jefferson does change with Grant’s help, however. He begins to believe in his own worth, and he realizes his life and manner of dying might have symbolic importance for his community. Gaines casts Jefferson as a Christ figure, a man to whom people look for their own salvation.
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The method of securing a defendant's constitutional right to compulsory process is invoked by filing a formal written demand of a request for. View the prosecution's evidence in the light most favorable to the government and determine whether the evidence presented is legally sufficient to support a verdict of guilty.
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The supreme court has jurisdiction to review, either on appeal or by writ of (BLANK) all the decisions of the lower federal courts and many decisions of the highest state courts. fourteen. What is the minimum number of people that would be summoned to appear for jury selection for a class B misdemeanor. a subpoena.
hearsay testimony is never admitted at trial. which of the following statements is not incorrect. Alford plea. Ralph, in a drunken binge, drives his car into a parked police vehicle and drives away. After investigating the accident, Ralph is charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.