How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Not afraid in the way you think. He's not afraid the colored man's going to rape his wife or his daughter. Although, let's be honest, if you turned a colored man loose on white women with no laws against it, there's no telling what might happen." (20.17)
Notice how a stranger on a train tells Ben how scary Black men are. It's telling that many people—even characters we don't know—seem to think this way. They use the threat or fear of violence as a call to action, which only spreads more violence.
Quote #2
"You never seen a nail made out of human bone?" said Abraham. I shuddered, reaching up to haul the plank down. (34.12)
Of all the violence that happens in the novel, this one creeps us out big time. It's disturbing that Black men are hanged and cut up to pieces. In fact, Abraham even tells Ben of toes and fingers being sold in town for fun. No one even cares about the violence it seems, so long as it's against Black people. Ugh.
Quote #3
"There was a couple boys sitting on the sidewalk downtown. They was talkin' to each other quiet like, telling about this strike of colored men up in Illinois. Well, sir, somebody overheard what they said, and next thing you know a bunch of men jump on these boys. One of 'em, they knocked out all his teeth." (38.11)
As Ben gets to know Abraham and his grandkids more, he learns stories about the violence against Black men in the community. All of these stories have a common thread: there's no reason for the violence. It's completely senseless and a huge overreaction to the so-called "crimes" the Black men are accused of.