Deputy Paul Bonin

Deputy Paul Bonin is a young white worker in a jail, where Jefferson is placed. Among other workers and officers, Paul shows a deep education and human attitude to the black people. He is the only sheriff that sympathize Jefferson and respects Grant. The difference in color of the skin did not take away his humanity and did not let him treat black people as things. Throughout the book, there are lots of examples where Paul tries to help Grant to make the brave person from Jefferson and encourage him to continue working on his improvement.

Deputy Paul Bonin was a witness of Jefferson’s execution and admit that the boy obtained courage, receiving the decision of his fate. Readers can notice how sheriff sympathize Jefferson and Miss Emma. He speaks with Grant at the end of the novel and tells him that Jefferson had the biggest courage among all the prisoners in the room. Paul shook Grant’s hand struggling to prove that his efforts were not useless and Jefferson had changed mostly because of Grant’s influence. The white sheriff that saw lots of examples of death due to his job was not cold-hearted and tried to help a poor boy until the end of his life. Even after Jefferson’s death, Paul wants everybody to know how brave the boy was.