How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Me, I think maybe Aristide was just a liar, but I didn't say that to Manman—she would have been anpil upset to hear me say so, even later, when everything had gone to s*** and it was obvious to everyone Aristide was not such a great guy. (1.143)
So, if Shorty knows Aristide is a liar, but pretends he's an upstanding guy, doesn't that mean there are two liars there? Shorty knows that sometimes it's better to fudge the truth a little bit than it is to say something that could get him in trouble. Yep, we get that. Here's the catch: Don't go judging liars if you are lying to people, too.
Quote #2
Toussaint knew that many of the slaves carried with them icons of Mary to stand in for the lwa Erzili Danto. It allowed them to worship her; at the same time it let them conceal their true beliefs and pretend, in the eyes of the master, to practice a species of ignorant Christianity. (2.24)
Most religions search for truth. To Toussaint, though, they all include lies. He takes bits and pieces of one (voodoo) and some from another (Christianity) to pick and choose what he believes. He finds truth by blending traditions.
Quote #3
For a moment he grasped for the right thing to say, but just for a moment—the only thing he could possibly say was at the forefront of his mind. It was a lie, but a truthful lie. Fifty faces, maybe more, gazed at him from out of the darkness. (4.22)
What is a "truthful lie" exactly? It sounds like a paradox to us. Perhaps Toussaint is just trying to make himself feel better about lying? Or maybe he's thinking about something that is partially true but omitting that. We hate to break it to him, but if something isn't the whole truth, then it's a lie.
Quote #4
Me and Marguerite, we knew what we had to do. We did it together, like we did everything. You looked at us, you saw a person in a mirror—someone reflected to make two people. We were in sync, like drums, man. We started to shake, and then we went all stiff and weird. (5.51)
Pretending to be possessed by Marassa, Shorty and Marguerite shake, rattle, and roll until their hearts are content with all the candy they've amassed. We notice how many times Shorty tells us that he's faking. He doesn't buy the supernatural thing, which means he's lying to every single person who comes to a performance.
Quote #5
Papa came down the steps. It hadn't seemed like a strange day till then, but at that moment it did. We were two liars, sitting with sweets in our laps that we didn't deserve. Me and Marguerite, we looked down, ashamed. (5.76)
Watch out, because Dad is livid now. The twins know they should be ashamed of themselves when he shows up at Dread's pad, too. His arrival highlights the fact that they've been deceiving people about their powers the whole time. No one likes to get called out as a liar.
Quote #6
You're a legend in this part of the Site, he said. Is it true that Dread had a thousand holes in him when he died?—I guess, I said. That's what my manman says. (17.84)
Leave it to Shorty to think his mom is a liar. He thinks his mom is lying about how many bullet holes were in Dread when he died. It's not until later that he sees she wasn't making the whole thing up. Yet he's still gone around town calling her a liar…
Quote #7
He has been replaced by a man named Brunet. I treated with him in Cape Town. He says that you have been grossly calumniated by Leclerc, that his predecessor spread many vile lies about you, and that he himself has nothing but the greatest respect for you, as the liberator of your country and elected leader of your people. (18.98)
Isaac tells Toussaint that General Brunet is honest because he calls General Leclerc a liar. The guy definitely was, but we can't help but notice that someone is proving his honesty by highlighting someone else's deceit. Seems kind of like a conflict of interest to us.
Quote #8
No, he thought. There is no stillness, not now, not ever. There is another version. A true version. Death will continue. There will be no triumphant ending with souls ascending through the sky, no waiting for a reunion that might only happen after ten thousand years. (20.22)
Toussaint thinks about death like he thinks about darkness: Ultimately, there has to be truth out there somewhere in the abyss. Check out what he saying about there being a "true version." He's suggesting that his life right now is all lies. Otherwise, why would he need to look for truth?
Quote #9
That was a lie I just told you. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'd lie. You know perfectly well that I've wanted to kill people in my time, and that I've done it, too. (21.12)
It's okay, Shorty. We forgive you, man. We love that Shorty talks directly to us, especially when he apologizes for stuff. At least he's honest about when he lies to us. Plus, he's ashamed of his actions, and he doesn't want us to judge him for liking being trigger-happy sometimes. Can you blame him?
Quote #10
He read the play, shivering at his high window, with amusement and amazement. Hardly a word was true. In it, he was a Greek god, fierce in countenance and in battle, an avatar of furious vengeance, determined to wreak murder on the slavers. He was uneducated and single of purpose. (22.3)
Reading a play about his life by Alphonse de Lamartine, Toussaint finds a bunch of lies. And we're talking a bunch. He thinks that literature is often all made up, even if it's based on truth. We might say that about the book we're reading, too. Sure, it's based on real events like the earthquake and Haitian Revolution, but the story itself is completely made up.