A Lesson Before Dying

by

Ernest Gaines

The defense attorney Character Analysis

The white attorney who is charged with the task of defending Jefferson from execution for the crime of killing Alcee Gropé. The attorney paints a picture of Jefferson that Grant, Emma, and Reverend Ambrose spend the remainder of the novel refuting: he calls Jefferson an animal and a “hog,” and tries to convince the jury to spare his life on the grounds that it’s immoral to kill a mere animal. For much of the novel, Jefferson believes the defense attorney’s words, calling himself a hog and behaving like one.

The defense attorney Quotes in A Lesson Before Dying

The A Lesson Before Dying quotes below are all either spoken by The defense attorney or refer to The defense attorney. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.

Related Characters: The defense attorney (speaker), Jefferson
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
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The defense attorney Quotes in A Lesson Before Dying

The A Lesson Before Dying quotes below are all either spoken by The defense attorney or refer to The defense attorney. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this.

Related Characters: The defense attorney (speaker), Jefferson
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis: