Grant Wiggins has been teaching on
a plantation outside Bayonne, Louisiana, for several years
when a slow-witted man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and
sentenced to death. Jefferson claims he is innocent of the crime.
He says he was on his way to a bar, but changed his mind and decided
to tag along with two men who were on their way to a liquor store. Upon
arriving there, the two men began arguing with the storeowner, and
a shootout ensued. The storeowner and the two men died, and Jefferson
remained at the scene of the crime. He was arrested and tried for
murder. Jefferson’s lawyer argues in court that Jefferson is nothing
but a poor fool, hardly more worthwhile than a hog, and therefore
incapable of plotting such a scheme. The jury quickly brings back
a guilty verdict.
Upon hearing the lawyer’s speech, Jefferson’s godmother,
Miss Emma, resolves to help Jefferson die like a man, not a hog.
She asks Grant to help her, knowing that he will resist. Grant left
many years prior to attend college, and he returned an educated
man. He deplores the injustices done to his fellow black men, but
he does not want to get involved in Jefferson’s case. However, after
considerable pressure from his aunt, Tante Lou, he agrees to try
to help Jefferson. Grant, Miss Emma, and Grant’s aunt go to visit
Jefferson in his cell, and they discover that he too heard the lawyer’s
words and has taken them to heart. Silent and moody, Jefferson resists
Grant’s feeble attempts to reach him. The three visitors spend an
uncomfortable hour in the cell and then leave.
During the next few visits, Jefferson continues to frustrate Grant’s
attempts to communicate. When Grant attempts to teach Jefferson
about dignity, Jefferson insists that dignity is for “youmans,”
not hogs. He eats and snuffles in imitation of a hog and tries to
anger Grant with stubbornness and malice, but Grant maintains his
patience. Each hour-long visit ends in failure, but Grant continues
to try to reach Jefferson. On his fourth visit, Grant sparks a conversation
with Jefferson about his final meal. Jefferson admits that he wants
a gallon of vanilla ice cream because, although he loves ice cream,
he has never had more than a thimbleful at a time. This admission
begins to break down the barrier between the two men. Grant borrows
money from some townspeople and buys Jefferson a small
radio. On his next visit, he brings Jefferson a notebook and asks him
to write down whatever thoughts come to his mind. Jefferson promises
to do so, and by Grant’s next visit, Jefferson has filled most of a
page with thoughts concerning the difference between hogs and men.
Grant’s relationships with his girlfriend Vivian
and with Reverend Ambrose begin to intensify. Despite her love for
Grant, Vivian dislikes his tendency to think only of himself, showing
little regard for her needs. Grant uses Vivian to escape the troubles
of his life, and he continually suggests that they run away from
their hometown and their past in the South. The Reverend Ambrose,
himself unable to reach Jefferson, urges Grant to put aside his
atheistic beliefs and help save not just Jefferson’s character,
but his soul. The Reverend declares that Grant must learn to tell
lies for the good of others.
Grant focuses his energy on Jefferson and tries to explain
the importance of Jefferson’s death. Jefferson asks Grant if he
believes in heaven and Grant replies that he does not, although
he qualifies this remark by saying that his atheism does not make
him a good man. In fact, Grant says, Jefferson will save even Grant’s
atheistic soul if he carries the cross for the sinners on earth.
Grant explains that the black community in the quarter has spent
centuries enslaved to white men, and that when Jefferson’s attorney
called him a hog, he attacked the will and intelligence of the entire
black society. In consequence, Jefferson now has the opportunity
to stand up for his community. He has become a symbol to his people,
and the manner in which he faces his death will bear on their self--confidence
and potential.
Over the next few weeks, Jefferson continues to write
in his journal. In March, the governor of Louisiana sets the execution
date for two weeks after Easter. As news of Jefferson’s impending
death spreads through the town, more and more people begin to visit
him. Young children and old men, strangers and friends, all come
to -Jefferson’s cell to speak to him. The onslaught of attention
makes Jefferson begin to understand the enormity of the task that
Grant has given him. He realizes that he has become much more than
an ordinary man and that his death will represent much more than
an ordinary death. Elated by Jefferson’s progress, Grant nevertheless dreads
the execution day, when that progress will be tested.
Grant cannot bring himself to attend the execution, for
he has grown very close to Jefferson. At the time the execution
is scheduled to take place, he orders his students to kneel by their
desks in honor of Jefferson. He steps outside the classroom, distressed
and bewildered. He knows he should have attended the execution.
A few minutes later, a deputy comes down from the courthouse and
informs Grant that the execution is over. He assures Grant that
Jefferson was the bravest man in the room that morning. Grant looks
out over the town, numb and heavyhearted, and discovers that he
is crying.
