Important Quotations Explained
1. I ain't got nothing âgainst my ole Miss, except she sold my mother
from me. And a boy ain't nothin' without his mother. I forgive her, but I
never forget her, and never expect to. But if she were the best woman on
earth I would rather have my freedom than belong to her.
2. Uncle Robert, [. . .] I have a theory that every woman ought to
know how to earn her own living. [A] great amount of sin and misery springs
from the weakness and inefficiency of women. [E]very woman should have some
skill or art which would insure her at least a comfortable support. I
believe that there would be less unhappy marriages if labor were more
honored among women.
3. [. . .] Lindy warn't satisfied wid rentin' so I buyed a piece ob
lan', an' I'se glad now I'se got it. Lindy's got a lot ob gumption; knows
most as much as a man. She ain't got dat long head fer nuffin. She's got
lots ob sense, but I don't like to tell her so.
4. “But, Mr. Bascom,” Harry said, “I do not understand this. It says
my mother and father were legally married. How could her marriage be set
aside and her children robbed of their inheritance? This is not a heathen
country. I hardly think barbarians would have done any worse; yet this is
called a Christian country.”
“Christian in name,” answered the principal.
5. Doctor, were I your wife, are there not people who would caress me
as a white woman who would shrink from me in scorn if they knew I had one
drop of Negro blood in my veins? [. . .] No, Doctor, I am not willing to
live under a shadow of concealment which I thoroughly hate as if the blood
in my veins were an undetected crime of my soul.
