In Ernest J. Gaines' novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American named Jefferson is caught in the middle of a gunfight for alcohol and, as the only survivor, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson's trial, the defense attorney had called him an uneducated pig in an effort to get him released, but the jury ignored this and sentenced him to death by electrocution anyway. Dismayed by this, Jefferson's godmother, Miss Emma, ​​asks the sheriff if visits from her and the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, would be possible to help Jefferson become a man before his death. The sheriff agrees and Miss Emma and Mr. Wiggins begin visiting Jefferson in his jail cell. Throughout the book, Jefferson is faced with two seemingly opposing choices: become a man and make his godmother and other loved ones proud by dying with dignity, or remain in the state of a pig with the mentality that nothing matters. importance because he will die regardless of his actions. The choices Jefferson faces and the choice he makes highlights the book's idea of ​​having dignity. ...