How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
When you have been free, and then have been stolen and carried away to another country, you understand that things can change places. When you have always been master, this insight is closed to you. (4.82)
For Toussaint, slavery is a circumstance, not an identity. He doesn't listen to what the masters say about slaves being animals and won't let himself get too comfortable after he's free either. He shows us that being a slave doesn't have to define who he is or what he does.
Quote #2
Nine hundred million francs, he thought. That's what our lives cost. That's the reward for which the brave Republic of France, the champion of liberty, throws away our freedom. (6.34)
That's a lot of money. We would never condone slavery—ever—but we can see why the French are so stuck on keeping their slaves. After all, they are worth a lot of money. Toussaint realizes it, too. At first he thought their crops were the main pull, but he quickly figures out that people are a richer commodity on the market.
Quote #3
Toussaint frowned. This was perhaps the first true intimation he had received that slavery might be wrong. He had never thought about it too much before, but now he wondered how it could be right for a man to sell a woman's baby. (6.44)
When a new mom comes to his dad (the local doc) for help since her master wants to dump her baby, Toussaint realizes that slavery doesn't seem right. He starts thinking about how unfair it is to this woman and to others. This is just the first in several instances where he sees the injustices of slavery.