Jefferson Dies, But Is Not Defeated Jefferson, a black man condemned to die by the electric chair in the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, is perhaps the strongest character in African-American literature today. Jefferson is a courageous young black man that a jury of all white men convicts of a murder he has not committed ; yet he still does not let this defeat destroy his personal character. Ernest Gaines portrays Jefferson this way to illustrate the fundamental belief that mankind’s defeats do not necessarily lead to his destruction. The author uses such actions as Jefferson still enjoying outside comforts, showing compassion towards others, and trying to better himse