Chapter 17

Info

• page: 135-145
• place: jail in Bayonne, Guidrys office
• time: a few weeks
• people: Grant, Jefferson, Guidry

Content

• Over the next week, Grant's anger gradually fades and he reflects on the fact that he never stays angry for long. At the same time, his belief in something never lasts very long either
• When Grant enters Jefferson's cell on Friday, he feels helpless, not knowing how to help Jefferson. Although he tries to talk about Miss Emma and to discuss with Jefferson that Miss Emma suffers from his manner towards her
• Jefferson, however, blocks it, saying that he is preoccupied with other issues than compassion and that Grant would certainly feel the same way if he had been sentenced to death. Jefferson's statement that he never wished he had been born gives an idea of how desperate he is about his situation
• He says Grant's visits upset him, and Jefferson threatens to yell and cause a riot. Grant says that despite Jefferson's angry words, his eyes show that he needs Grant. Jefferson says only the living need to have good manners; he then throws his food on the floor
• At Guidry's request, Grant enters his office and stands there for a few minutes, waiting while the sheriff makes a phone call. When Guidry finally hangs up, he asks Grant if he sees any improvement in Jefferson, and Grant sincerely replies that he does not. Guidry is furious, and Grant later finds out that his anger stems from a visit Miss Emma made to Mrs Guidry, asking if she could meet Jefferson in the lounge or another large room so she could sit down
• Grant denies Guidry's accusation that Grant encouraged Miss Emma to make this request. Guidry asks Clark and a "fat man" named Frank what to do. Clark declares Jefferson should stay in his cell, Frank declines to answer, and Guidry decides to ask Jefferson what he would prefer. Still, Guidry says, even if Jefferson is allowed to go to the day room, he will have to be in shackles

Chapter 18

Info

• page: 146-153
• place: jail in Bayonne
• time: Friday
• people: Grant, Jefferson, Miss Emma, Tante Lou, Reverend Ambrose

Content

• Guidry asks Jefferson if he would like to meet his visitors in the day room which Jefferson affirms. Thus, Miss Emma, Tante Lou, and Reverend Ambrose visit Jefferson in the prison day room. Jefferson's arms and legs are bound and he sits down at the table with his visitors. When Miss Emma tries to feed him, he resists
• The next time Grant visits Jefferson, he again fails to get Jefferson to eat. When Grant talks about the Christmas program, Jefferson asks if Christ was born or died on Christmas. Grant replies that Christ was born on Christmas. Jefferson tells Grant that Jesus Christ was crucified on Easter
• When Grant wants to talk to Jefferson about morality and the responsibility of each individual, Jefferson reacts snidely and states that by now he is no longer a human being but a hog

Chapter 19

Info

• page: 154-164
• place: Miss Emmas place
• time: unknown period of time
• people: Grant, Miss Emma

Content

• Grant is learning more and more that he has a fickle nature. His anger comes and goes, as do his convictions. On the one hand, he agrees with the cynical view of things held by Professor Antoine, but on the other hand, he sees life more optimistically than his teacher. The inner conflict in which the elementary school teacher finds himself also expresses in his relationship with Jefferson. On the one hand, Grant is convinced that he cannot help the prisoner; on the other hand, his inner powerlessness in the face of the situation keeps him up at night and he would like to help
• Grant first seeks out Miss Emma to tell her that he no longer wants to visit Jefferson. However, this decision does not seem like the right one to him, so, he then begins to positively influence Jefferson whenever he visits him. The author's writing demonstrates how a process of self-reflection and empathy is set in motion in the character Grant. This new empathy, in turn, has a positive effect on his relationship with Jefferson
• Although the change is not immediately noticeable, and Jefferson continues to eat nothing and insist on being a pig, something changes from Grant's point of view, and he thinks he can see a positive change in Jefferson

Chapter 20

Info

• page: 165-173
• time: unknown
• place: jail in Bayonne
• people: Grant, Jefferson, Guidry, Miss Emma

Content:

• Although Sheriff Guidry embodies the values of a typical racist white man, he repeatedly positions himself against racism. Gaines' description of the political and social circumstances indicates that people with black skin, such as Grant, will always get the short end of the stick against the sheriffs and, consequently, must always be careful how they confront men like Guidry. This manifests itself, for example, in Grant having to wait standing up while the sheriff is on the phone, and also in Grant being required to end every sentence with "sir"
• Although at first glance, Guidry seems like a stereotypical authoritarian and white supremacist, he behaves ambivalently throughout. For example, Guidry continues to let Grant visit Jefferson, although the visits to the prison are now spreading unrest
• The author thus creates the impression in the reader that Guidry's heart is also in the right place compared to other white sheriffs. The policemen Chuck and Frank, for example, show no compassion for the coloured innocent convicted inmate. Even when Guidry behaves gruffly towards Jefferson, he does not deliberately bully him. Whether Guidry is trying to maintain his reputation by making concessions not only to his wife, but also to Miss Emma, Jefferson, and possibly his own conscience, remains in question
• Involuntarily, Jefferson makes himself the negative stereotype of his kind by refusing any help and rejecting responsibility. He chooses to wear the mantle of inferiority imposed on him rather than fight to shake it off. Tragically, he embodies all the stereotypes that whites hold as prejudices against blacks: He does not think or act independently; he does not fight against his oppressors; he is more animal than human
• By embodying these stereotypes and making no effort to refute them, he drags all of his kind down with him into a downward spiral. While Jefferson vehemently claims that he does not want Grant's help, he undermines this claim by showing Grant how much his lawyer's humiliating words hurt him
• By eating like a hog and referring to himself as such, Jefferson expresses to Grant a silent cry for help about being hurt over being titled a hog and wordlessly asks the elementary school teacher to help him wriggle out of what seems to be a hopeless situation. One might say Jefferson is, in a sense, trapped not only physically but also mentally by his unhappiness