How we cite our quotes:
Quote #1
"But the Civil Rights Movement changed all that!"
"I seen rights come and I seen 'em go [...] You're a stranger here or you'd know that this is for the folks that work in that guano plant outside town. Po' folks." (1.1.19-20)
Although both issues are often ignored by the populace at large, race and class are deeply intertwined. Here's the brass tax—you can convince every single racist white person on the planet to stop disliking black people, but it won't matter one bit if most black people are still living in poverty. In other words, you can treat the symptoms until the cows come home, but that's not going to cure the illness.
Quote #2
"That mummy lady's husband, he got on the good side of the upper crust real quick: When the plant workers' children come round [...] he called 'em dirty little bastards." (1.1.34)
This is insane. This guy basically owns a freak show—not to mention the fact that he murdered his wife—yet he looks down on the poor citizens of Chicokema. Who does this guy think he is? Of course, race plays a big part here, but it's not the only reason. The sad truth is that you can do all the trash-talking you want as long as you have the dollar bills to back it up.
Quote #3
At the time, there were two of them, Wild Child and a smaller boy. The boy soon disappeared. It was rumored that he was stolen by the local hospital for use in experiments. (1.2.1)
We all know what ultimately happens to Wild Child—she gets killed after Meridian tries to save her. At first, we thought that Wild Child was probably just nervous and confused, but we forgot about this. She was probably just terrified that she might get kidnapped and turned into a guinea pig like her friend. The reality of poverty seems stranger than fiction.