Chapter 1

Info

• page: 5-11
• place: courtroom
• time: unknown
• people: Jefferson, Alcee Gropé, Bear and Brother, Attorney, Defendant

Content

• Opening scene: courtroom scene recounted by an external narrator who later can be identified as Grant Wiggins, a teacher at the local plantation school
• In the first scene, the narrator recounts the trial of Jefferson, a 21-year-old black man accused of robbery and murder, in such a detailed way as if he had attended it
• Throughout the first chapter, we are told a series of unfortunate incidents that had led to Jefferson's accusation
• However, Jefferson's version of the happenings differs strongly from the prosecutor's version
• As the narrator tells, Jefferson was on his way to the White Rabbit Bar and Lounge when Bear and Brother, two young black men, drove up beside him and gave him a ride
• They drove to a liquor store where Beat and Brother demanded the store owner to give them alcohol on credit
• Alcee Gropé, the owner of the shop, refused to do so
• As one of the two black men approached Gropé, he felt threatened and started to shoot at the black men
• Gropé, Bear and Brother died in the gunfight
• Incapable of reacting, Jefferson witnessed the shooting
• After Jefferson regained consciousness and realized what had happened, he took a bottle of whiskey from one of the shelves, and after taking a big sip to calm down his nerves, he filled his pockets with money he took from the opened cash register
• Just as he was about to leave the crime scene, two white men walked in
• The prosecutor's story was different, though: he accused Jefferson of deliberately robbing and killing Gropé and that after he had committed the crime, he celebrated his victory by drinking alcohol and stuffing his pockets with money
• Jefferson's attorney defended him arguing, that he had acted out of plain stupidity, being just a foolish boy incapable of committing any crime
• But in the end, the judge found Jefferson guilty of robbery and murder in the first degree
• Jefferson was sentenced to death by electrocution only a few days after the trial

Chapter 2

Info

• page: 12-17
• place: Grants home
• time: late afternoon
• people: Grant, Tante Lou, Miss Emma

Content

• When primary school teacher Grant returns home from school on the afternoon of the prosecution, he finds his Aunt Lou and Jefferson's godmother Emma shrouded in depressed silence. Although Grant would prefer to avoid talking to the ladies, in the end, his conscience forces him to join Lou and Emma in the kitchen. As expected, it is about Jefferson's court case of the afternoon
• Full of worry, Miss Emma thinks about how Jefferson's lawyer compared Jefferson to a pig and is outraged. She tells Grant that she does not want Jefferson to die like a pig and that she wants Grant to accompany her to the prison and teach Jefferson to die with dignity
• Grant reacts dismissively, noting that there is nothing he can do to help Jefferson. Tante Lou thinks they all three need to visit Mr Henry Pichot. She considers that Pichot's brother-in-law, the sheriff, might let them in to see Jefferson
• Grant can hardly contain himself with anger. He would love to scream at his aunt and tell her how much he hates the city and how helpless he feels in this oppressive environment, but he knows she would not listen to him

Chapter 3

Info

• page: 18-26
• place: the Pichot plantation
• time: early evening
• people: Tante Lou, Grant, Miss Emma, Henry Pichot, Louis Rougon

Content

• A little later, Tante Lou, Miss Emma and Grant arrive at the Pichot plantation. The maid they come across informs them that they wish to see Mr Pichot. Miss Emma worked as a cook on the Pichot plantation all her life, as did her mother and grandmother
• While Tante Lou washed and ironed, Grant ran errands. When he left for college, he vowed never to return to the plantation after that. After a while, Henry Pichot and Louis Rougon enter the kitchen
• Miss Emma asks Pichot to persuade his brother-in-law to attend Grant's visit to Jefferson in prison and teach the inmate
• When Pichot is unsure, Miss Emma reminds him that she worked for his family for years and that he owes her a favour. Grant admits to Pichot that he does not know how to act himself
• The primary teacher carefully avoids being disrespectful and is careful to lower his eyes when necessary. After some coaxing, Pichot agrees to talk to his brother-in-law

Chapter 4

Info

• page: 27-37
• place: the Rainbow Club in Bayonne
• time: evening
• people: Grant, Tante Lou, Thelma Clairbone, Vivian

Content

• First, Grant brings Miss Emma home. Then, Grant informs his aunt that he is going to eat in town, which offends her. He drives to Bayonne
• After crossing the railway tracks and driving down a poorly lit street into the black part of town, Grant stops at the Rainbow Club, where Thelma Claiborne, the owner's wife, prepares his dinner. At Grant's request, his light-skinned girlfriend Vivian arrives
• She sits down with Grant, and they have a calm chat. He offers to take her and her children far away from the city, but she thinks the idea is unrealistic and threatens to leave the bar if he keeps talking about it. She asks him why he hasn't left town for good and he replies, that he wants to be with her. She calls him a liar because he once before left town to stay with his parents in California
• When Vivian asks him why he returned, Grant dodges the question. She reminds him that they can't be so open about their love for each other until she finalises their divorce. As she dances, Grant tells her about Jefferson's judgement. Angry and frightened, Grant wonders if he can teach Jefferson how to die when Grant himself doesn't know how to live