Grant Wiggins:

• Grant Wiggins is the elementary school teacher in Bayonne and also provides the narrator and protagonist in A Lesson Before Dying. When Miss Emma and Tante Lou try to persuade Grant to take care of Jefferson and make him a strong man for the time until he dies, the elementary school teacher initially refuses to do so
• Grant goes to college after high school, where he is one of the few blacks to graduate. However, he is drawn back to Bayonne after his education. Thus he is once again reminded of the hardships of his childhood and youth as a worker. He lives in a place that reminds him of the torments of slavery of his ancestors
• Seeing how regressive his community is in thinking and education and that he is unable to do anything about it causes great dissatisfaction in Grant
• Growing up as a believer, Grant reaches the point in his adult life that he no longer sees any point in believing in a God who, for example, allows social injustice and racism. In his opinion, the religious people around him, such as Miss Emma or Reverend Ambrose, are in danger of surrendering to their fate and no longer acting in a self-determined way
• Grant has nothing but contempt for white, racist people such as plantation owner Henri Pichot. It infuriates the teacher to see the arrogance and condescension that Pichot displays towards black members of the community. Another reason for Grant to oppose the church is that most whites are religious and blacks, if they belong to the same church, virtually accept their unfair treatment
• Over time, Grant notices how Jefferson changes under his influence and becomes more approachable and opens up to him more and more. Especially Grant's girlfriend Vivian keeps convincing him to get closer to Jefferson and give the prisoner a chance

Jefferson:

• Jefferson is a 21-year-old black young man who is innocently sentenced to death for accidently being at the scene of a murder. As the narrator puts it, Jefferson "was being at the wrong place at the wrong time" (p. 8, l. 28), which was his undoing
• Simply stated: Jefferson does not have high expectations of life. He has worked for low wages on Pichot's sugar cane plantation since his younger days
• Low self-esteem: When he is called a hog in court, Jefferson does not react indignantly and stand up for himself, but questions himself and even begins to behave like one (p. 93)
• Sensitive: Although he hardly talks about how much his impending execution is upsetting him and how alone he feels in his hopeless situation as an innocent convicted murderer, Jefferson shows clear signs of psychological stress
• Childlike: As Jefferson's defence lawyer states in court, the young man should not face a harsh punishment for his presence at the crime scene, as he was more of "a boy and a fool" (p. 9, l. 32 f.). Jefferson behaves overall very reserved and insecure and does not publicly stand up for his innocence
• Resigned: He sees no point in fighting. Despite his friends' attempts to encourage and strengthen him, Jefferson seems to have already resigned himself to his fate
• Traumatized: The shock he is under when he witnesses the murder of Brother and Bear never really leaves Jefferson after the crime. The fact that the young man barely articulates himself and remains silent even during the pronouncement of the sentence indicates that he is completely overwhelmed by the situation and would urgently need therapeutic help instead of a death sentence
• Brave: By the novel’s conclusion, Grant regards Jefferson as an enormously brave man. Even though Jefferson might come across vulnerable, he turns his sensitivity into strength

Miss Emma:

• Miss Emma is Jefferson's only relative and, although the elderly lady does not always understand her Jefferson, she loves him dearly
• She has something like motherly feelings for Jefferson. So it is not surprising that when Jefferson starts to behave like a hog because he is called one, she becomes physically and mentally ill. The fact that Jefferson is in such a poor state affects the lady enormously
• As Jefferson's relative, it is very important to Miss Emma that he will die with dignity. That is why she pushes Grant so hard to take care of the prisoner, as she suspects that the primary school teacher can help Jefferson more than she can
• Wanting to help Jefferson by allowing Grant to visit him, but needing permission from her former boss Henri Pichot, she overcomes her fears and grovels before the racist plantation owner

Tante Lou:

• Contrary to her name, which portrays her as Grant's aunt, Tante Lou is the primary school teacher's grandmother. Grandson and grandmother live together and have a strong bond that defies all outside influences
• After Grant's parents moved to California and Grant was too young to come at the time, his grandmother raised him in Bayonne
• Tante Lou believes in God and draws strength in her life primarily from the church. Accordingly, she finds it difficult to cope with the fact that her grandson vehemently refuses to go to church with her or to share her faith
• Although Grant does not always agree with his grandmother, he has great respect for her and because of this he also follows her and Miss Emma's wish to visit Jefferson in prison

Henri Pichot:

• Henri Pichot is the owner of the sugar cane plantation in Bayonne, and there are a lot of black employees working under him whom he treats not at all with dignity but with arrogance
• Accustomed all his life to being obeyed by others, Pichot finds it difficult to comply with Miss Emma's request that she and Grant be allowed to visit Jefferson in prison
• Both Aunt Lou and Miss Emma, as well as Grant, have worked for Pichot before, so Mr Pichot's relationship with them is not at eye level
• The already problematic character of Henri Pichot culminates in inhumanity when he makes a bet that Jefferson will die before his execution. He even gives the prisoner his pocket knife, which is not done out of charity but rather out of the perfidious hope that Jefferson will use it to harm himself
• Pichot represents white racism in Louisiana in the 1940s. In characters like Henri Pichot, the obvious contempt for black people couples with an almost tangible fear of the strength of the oppressed

Vivian:

• Vivian Baptiste is the girlfriend of Grant, the primary school teacher, and a teacher herself, but not on the plantation like her boyfriend, but in Bayonne
• The young woman already has two children and is still married but is in the process of divorcing her previous husband
• Vivian turns out to be an immensely supportive and loving partner for Grant and, especially concerning Jefferson, she supports her boyfriend in word and deed
• It is Vivian who constantly reminds Grant why it is worthwhile to work as a teacher and therefore contribute to the education and knowledge of the children. She also encourages Grant to get involved with Jefferson again and again because she knows that he might regret it if he doesn't
• Even though Vivian and Grant are always at odds, their love for each other underlies these disagreements