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.
Quote #4
And I'ma tell you, I've seen some things out of place before, and a young brown-skinned boy walking along the road just outside of Owosso, Michigan, at two thirty in the morning is definitely not where he ought to be. (10.18)
Now, this is scary. Sometimes, your race can get you into trouble with bad people. Sometimes, it might be best to be careful about where you go based on your race and what time of day it is. What does this say about Owosso, Michigan? What kind of people would hurt a little boy just because of the color of his skin?
Quote #5
"…Bud-not-Buddy, you don't know how lucky you are I came through here, some of these Owosso folks used to have a sign hanging along here that said, and I'm going to clean up the language for you, it said, 'To Our Negro Friends Who Are Passing Through, Kindly Don't Let The Sun Set On Your Rear End In Owosso!'" (10.77)
Sounds like the people in Owosso are a real nice bunch, huh? How do you think Bud and the other African American characters in the book feel about this?
Quote #6
"Look at this noggin, I rest my case. Boy looks like one of George Washington Carver's experiments sprouted legs and run off. You sure you're not from Tuskegee, Alabama, Bud?" (11.101)
George Washington Carver was a famous scientist who discovered many uses for peanuts, including peanut butter, for which we are all very grateful. So Lefty's making a joke about how Bud looks like a peanut with legs.
Quote #7
The policeman looked at me and said, "Oh. Your grandson, huh? You two look just alike." (12.46)
The policeman thinks that Bud looks like Lefty, even though Bud and Lefty aren't related. If the policeman looked more carefully, or if he were interested in Bud and Lefty as individuals, he would see that they're not related. This quote shows how unfamiliar the policeman is with the African Americans who live in his own city.
Quote #8
"The trouble the policeman was talking about at the factory is called a sit-down strike […] They're going to sit there until the company gives them a union […] The people who run the factories and the railroads seemed to be really scared. To them if a worker has any dignity or pride he can't be doing a good job." (12.91)
Striking is one way African Americans, as well as all laborers, can demand to be treated fairly. Being part of a union helps minorities and the poor stick up for themselves and their rights as citizens. By helping the unions, Lefty Lewis shows us that he cares about his community, and he also shows us that he's willing to put himself in some danger for the good of others, since being involved with unions was pretty risky at the time for African Americans.
Quote #9
Right outside the place was a sign that said, APPEARING FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY IN JULY HERMAN E. CALLOWAY AND THE NUBIAN KNIGHTS OF THE NEW DEAL. (12.102)
Bud doesn't know it, but the man who must be his father has a very interesting name for his band. "Nubian" is a name for ancient Africans from Nubia; knights are fighters; and The New Deal is the plan President Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with to help poor folks through the Depression. So Calloway's band is really like the silent strikers, but they play music instead.
Quote #10
"…Son, there just aren't too many places a young Negro boy should be traveling by himself, especially not clear across Michigan, there're folks in this state that make your average Ku Kluxer look like John Brown. You know who John Brown is?" (12.124)
Although it should not be this way, Lefty's advice is actually good. You do have to be careful out there, and being black and all alone makes it even more important, especially during the 1930s. (By the way, John Brown is the bomb. Ku Klux Klan, obviously, is not.)