A man or a hog? Some believed that Jefferson was a man, and other believed he was a hog. The image of Jefferson dying as a hog began very early in the book. The lawyer hoped that by making Jefferson look like a hog the jury would find him incompetent of committing such a crime. The hog approach did nothing to help the situation, it only worsened it. Initially calling Jefferson a hog only effected two main people, Jefferson and Miss Emma. When Jefferson was thrown into "some inglorious spot" Miss Emma almost immediately wanted to take action on the transference of Jefferson "the hog" to Jefferson "the man". .
In order for Grant to be able to teach Jefferson he needed the approval of the sheriff. The sheriff as well as many of the other white people in town believed that teaching Jefferson to be a man was a waste of time. The third and fourth line of the poem-"While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot" seemed to be the way people in the town and in the jail treated Jefferson. The black community backed Jefferson and Grant the entire way. The school kids would occasionally ask about Jefferson*s progress. Tante Lou, Miss Emma, Grant, and the Reverend would always visit, pray, and cook for Jefferson. Vivian was also concerned with Jefferson progress.
Once Jefferson came to realize the importance of dying a man he began to open up to a few people. He went from laying in a jail cell looking at the wall not talking to any who would come to visit, to occasionally shouting out comments about being a hog, to opening up and becoming a man. It is almost like someone said to Jefferson ".then even the monsters we defy shall be constrained to honor us though death." So Jefferson began to think in the way of "If we must die, O let us nobly die.".
I believe that understanding this poem is not necessarily essential to understanding A Lesson Before Dying. This poem does include many similar concepts and ideas such as "If we must die, let it not be like hogs hunted and penned in some inglorious spot," This explains how many did not want Jefferson to die, if he was to be in a jail cell let not be hog like conditions.
