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. WHO calls Jefferson a hog in A Lesson Before Dying? Frustration Stage. When Grant finally does meet up with Jefferson on his own he sees …
Oct 25, 2012 · His defense attorney did it for sympathy, he simply said it to make the people feel bad for jefferson, to make the people think that a stupid man couldnt possibly commit something like this. He wanted the people to let him off the hook, because a black man back then to everyone else was just ignorant....stupid.....a hog.
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. 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 …
Also significant is the defense attorney's closing argument in which he refers to Jefferson as "a boy," "a fool," "a cornered animal," and "a thing to hold the handle of a plow" and urges the jury to note "the shape of this skull, this face as flat as the palm of my hand, . . . those eyes [without] a modicum of intelligence."
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.
Lesson Summary Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying uses various symbols to reinforce the novel's important themes. Food, a painting of The Last Supper, and the radio symbolize community and connection. The hog symbolizes animality, evoking how African-Americans are regarded as filthy animals.
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).
Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this. 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.
Miss Emma Glen is Jefferson's godmother and the best friend of Tante Lou, Grant's aunt. Grant refers to Miss Emma as 'nannan. ' She is introduced in the beginning of the novel when she encourages Grant to visit Jefferson in prison.
The notebook represents Jefferson's reconnection with his humanity, a reconciliation facilitated by Grant. ... Grant gives Jefferson the notebook, symbolizing his desire to teach Jefferson and help Jefferson teach himself.
Grief-stricken, Miss Emma thinks about how Jefferson's attorney compared Jefferson to a hog. She tells Grant that she does not want Jefferson to die a hog and that she wants Grant to accompany her to the prison and teach Jefferson to die with dignity.
When his lawyer calls him a "hog," Jefferson takes the insult to heart and begins to consider himself powerless in the white-dominated society. He becomes sullen and withdrawn, accepting a living death and therefore becoming a dark symbol of his oppressed people.
Further, although Grant and Jefferson are not blood relatives, they are connected through their common experiences as black males. Although physically free, Grant lives in a mental prison of his own making created by his hatred of whites, his arrogance, and his detachment from the black community.
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 Wiggins The protagonist and narrator of the novel, an elementary school teacher in his mid-twenties. Grant is intelligent and willful, but also somewhat hypocritical and depressed. A life spent in a segregated, racist community has made him bitter. He has no faith in himself, his society, or his church.
Gaines gives life to the portable electric chair, dubbed Gruesome Gerty that arrives in this chapter.
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.
When Grant comes home from school on the afternoon of the trial, he finds his aunt, Tante Lou, and Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, sitting quietly at the table. He hurries to his room. He knows they want to talk about the trial and wishes desperately to avoid the subject. For courtesy’s sake, however, he goes out to the kitchen.
The first chapter opens with the novel’s fundamental concern: how can justice prevail in a society dominated by a single group of people? In Jefferson’s trial, the judge is white, the lawyers are white, and every member of the jury is white. Therefore, Jefferson receives a trial not by his peers, but by his oppressors.