How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Lord, Lord, Lord. Don't tell me you can't remember them early mornings when that sun was just coming up over there behind them trees? Y'all can't tell me y'all can't remember how Jack and Red Rider used to race out into that field on them old single slides? Jack with Diamond, Red Rider with Job—touching the ground, just touching the ground to keep them sides steady. Hah. Tell me who could beat them two men plowing a row, hanh? Who? I'm asking y'all who?"
"Nobody," Beulah said. "That's for sure. Not them two men. Them was men—them." (9.101-2)
So just what is it that gets Jack and Red Rider remembered for being "real men?" How hard they worked and how good they were at it. Add that to Gaines's definition of masculinity.
Quote #5
Miss Merle's birdlike red mouth tightened and untightened two or three times. From her eyes, you could see that she was questioning God's reason for putting her here at the same time He did the rest of us. God did not Answer her, so she turned on me.
"And you're supposed to be a man? What kind of husband will you make if you let her kick—" She stopped again. I would not look at her, but I could feel her staring at me. She probably wanted to hit me, she wanted to hit somebody, but she was too much of a lady. (11.50-2)
Along with learning that Miss Merle is about to have a stroke since she's so stressed, this passage also tells us that outdated gender roles are alive and well in the South. Of course, they're probably doing fine everywhere else, too, unfortunately.
Quote #6
"Give us a couple minutes," Clatoo said. "You can spare us that."
Mapes looked back at us on the walk. More of us had raised our guns belt-level.
"All right," Mapes said to Clatoo. "You have a couple minutes. Make it quick. I'm tired now."
"Y'all come on inside," Clatoo said to us. "Not you, Candy," he said to her.
"Nobody's talking without me," Candy said, coming back toward the garry.
"This time we have to, Candy," Clatoo said. "Just the men with guns."
That stopped her. Nobody talked to Candy like that—Black or white. (14.44-50)
Whew, Candy is set to go off because of what Clatoo said—and Clatoo refuses to back down. Of course, it's not hard to feel like nobody's going to mess with you when you and sixteen of your friends are carrying loaded shotguns.