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Effects on Religious Beliefs and Human Dignity Throughout history, it has been proven that the environment around us reflects on what we believe and how we act around others. In the novel by Ernest J. Gaines this aspect is strongly stressed throughout. Jeffers ....

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.... I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this" (Gaines 7-8). At one point in the novel, Jefferson smashes his face into his food and begins eating it as if he were a hog. He does this, because of the attorney's rash, insensitive and cruel remarks. This event marks the beginning of Jefferson's decline of self-respect and gradually decreases his belief in heaven and God. With the help of Grant, his beliefs are slowly altered and his self-worth is steadily improved. "For the Reverend Ambrose, what matters is not whether Jefferson affirms his human dignity but whether he finds salvation" (Kenny 683). The fact that the Reverend do ....