Roots: The Saga of an American Family Events Quotes

Little Kunta basked thus every day in his mother's tenderness. (2.9)

He said that three groups of people lived in every village. First were those you could see [...] Second were the ancestors [...] "The third people," said Omoro, "are those waiting to be born." (6.16)

In his high voice, a singing griot sang endless verses about the past splendors of the kingdoms of Ghana, Songhai, and Old Mali. (12.11)

"The elders say to Jong Sang Doo," said Omoro, "a land where slaves are sold to huge cannibals called toubabo koomi, who eat us. No man knows any more about it." (16.57)

"All men make mistakes. I lost a goat to a lion when I was of your rains. [...] I learned, and you must learn. Never run toward any dangerous animal." (21.18)

A wife's most serious charge [...] was to claim that her husband was not a man, meaning that he was inadequate with her in bed. (31.12)

Kunta's nostrils detected a new small in the air; actually, it was a mingling of many smells, most of them strange and unknown to him. (40.6)

Kunta's eyes entreated this black one, who had distinctly Wolof features, My Brother, you come from my country…But the black one seemed not even to see Kuna (41.11)

One thing he didn't hear [...] was the sound of drums. The toubob probably didn't allow these black people to have any drums, that had to be the reason. (46.9)

In many ways, this toubob farm was very different from the last one. (51.1)

It was easy for Kunta to understand why plantation-owning massas and even their slaves scorned and sneered at them as "lazy, shiftless, no-count white trash." (59.7)

Since they were Africans, neither man showed how much this moment had been awaited by both of them. (61.1)

Bell's pregnancy took Kunta's mind even farther back to Africa than is encounter with the Ghanaian had done. (68.3)

"You can't be nobody's frien' an' slave both.""How come, Pappy?""'Cause frien's don't own one 'nother." (74.71-73)

Kunta hardly saw the road before them as they rode back toward the plantation [...] What if the girl had really been his Kizzy? What if the cook had been his Bell? (78.31)

"You jes' came from bein' wid yo' mammy an' pappy both?" Mizz Malizy couldn't believe it. "Lawd, ain't many us gits to know both our folks fo' somebody git sol' away!" (84.32)

"Massa don't care nothin' bout you. He may be yo' pappy, but he don't care nothin' 'bout nobody but dem chickens!" (89.21)

He was thinking that [...] he would even somehow indirectly remind the massa whose father he was, which should curb his anger, at least. (91.5)

"Gran'mammy say de African make us know who we is!""He do dat!" said Gran-mammy Kizzy, beaming.For the first time in a long time, Chicken George felt that his cabin was his home again. (97.43)

George couldn't find words. What could he say? After all, he was the massa's slave. (103.93)

"An' I left, figgered somewhere [...] had to be better. But seem like the only somebody even give me the time of day been your n*****s." (111.61)

Stripping to my underwear, I [...] forced myself to stay there though all ten nights of the crossing, trying to imagine what did he see, hear, feel, smell, taste. (120.66)