How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For a long time I thought Mama was saying [the Jeune Mou-Pro] were the Jimmy Crow, a name I knew from home. (2.2.3)
Young Ruth May gets a lot of political issues mixed up, confusing the African communist group with America's assortment of racist laws. Could these two groups possibly be different, or do they have anything in common?
Quote #2
"We Belgians made slaves of them and cut off their hands in the rubber plantations. Now you Americans have them for a slave wage in the mines and let them cut off their own hands. And you, my friend, are stuck with the job of trying to make amends." (2.2.29)
This big plot dump says a lot about the politics going on behind the scenes. At this point in the narrative, the Price family doesn't know what's going on with the Congo's government, and if they did, they probably wouldn't care.
Quote #3
"American aid will be the Congo's salvation. You'll see!" (2.2.32)
American "aid" ends up being more like the Congo's damnation. Nathan, despite a world view so narrow you couldn't slide a sheet of paper through it sideways, might actually have his heart in the right place here. He thinks he really can help these people, whereas the American government just wants to take advantage of them. Slavery isn't slavery if it's happening in another country, right??
Quote #4
The ceiling light was a clear glass bowl half full of [...] dead bugs. I know why. They like to come up to the light because it is so, so pretty like something they want, and then they get trapped in there. (2.2.46)
This is a pretty deep metaphor about the Congo's motivations for allying with the motivations, and the consequences of the alliance. They want what Americans have—everything—but diving into it headfirst has fatal consequences.
Quote #5
"These people can't even read a simple slogan: Vote for Me. Down with Shapoopie! An election! Who out here would even know it happened?" (2.7.56)
So much wrong with this sentence. Perhaps we were wrong when we said Nathan's heart was in the right place. Here, he shows himself to be painfully ignorant and insensitive.
Quote #6
Since no one can read, every candidate is designated by a symbol. Wisely these men choose to represent themselves with useful things—knife, bottle, matches, cooking pot. (2.8.10)
Just because they can't read doesn't mean they're stupid. The Congolese people are able to craft a rudimentary political system using what they know—and how is that any different, really, for waving flags or showing lots of white picket fences in your political ads?
Quote #7
Mr. Patrice will be the Prime Minister of the Congo now and it won't be the Belgian Congo anymore, it will be the Republic of Congo. And do you think anybody in this hip town we live in is actually going to notice? (2.9.5)
Despite making fun of the guy's name, Rachel makes a good point here. Many citizens of the now Republic of Congo won't even notice a difference. Who is this change of power mostly going to benefit? And are the consequences of American elections really any different?
Quote #8
I have seen preachers at revival meetings speak [...] with voices rising in such a way that heaven and anger get mingled together. (2.11.8)
Leah observes something that politicians and preachers have in common: charisma. So, what's the difference between politics and religion? To the Kilanga, not much. They think they can vote for Jesus just like they vote for a political leader.
Quote #9
"We are making a vote for Jesus Christ in the office of personal God, Kilanga village." (4.1.19)
In the villages of the Congo, gods can dictate life, like a leader can. Now that the Congo has learned democracy, why not apply that to God? Seems like solid reasoning to us.
Quote #10
When a government comes crashing down, it crushes those who were living under its roof. (5.Prologue.8)
The people making decisions don't care if everything goes to hell in a handbasket—or any other kind of vessel. They're not the ones who have to live paycheck to paycheck making actual baskets by hand. They're the ones with power, money, and safety nets. When their decisions fail, everyone but them suffers.