How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Boy," Mrs. Amos said, "I am not the least bit surprised at your show of ingratitude. Lord knows I have been stung by my own people before […] I do not have time to put up with the foolishness of those members of our race who do not want to be uplifted." (2.37)
Mrs. Amos tows a hard line in her family and is just as harsh on everyone else, including other African Americans like Bud. Also, what does Mrs. Amos mean when she says "uplifted"? Is she saying that Bud and others should be just like she is? Do you think she would approve of Calloway and the jazz band?
Quote #2
And there were more people sitting around than I first thought too […] They were all the colors you could think of, black, white and brown, but the fire made them look like they were different shades of orange. There were dark orange folks sitting next to medium orange folks sitting next to light orange folks. (8.77)
Because it's getting dark outside and the only light is coming from a campfire, all the people sitting around the campfire look similar. There's no difference between black and white, rich or poor, or anything else: this is a scene about similarity, unity, and community.
Quote #3
Right before we got into the cardboard jungle we passed the white people with the coughing baby at their own little fire […] All they're eating is dandelion greens soup, they're broke, their clothes are falling off of them, their baby's sick but when someone took them some food and blankets, the man said, "Thank you very much, but we're white people. We ain't in need of a handout." (8.186-187)
Oh, brother. Because of social pressures to act a certain way, the white family feels like even though they are at the bottom of the pit, they still can't sink lower by accepting help from a black family. This shows that even though all of these people are in the same boat, it's still hard for some of them to get past prejudice and stereotypes.