How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Over in the vacant lots was Jasper, young, coal-black, and of magnificent build, sitting on a wheelbarrow in the pelting sun—at work, supposably [sic], whereas he was in fact only preparing for it by taking an hour's rest before beginning. (2.13)
Objection! Some readers might oppose this depiction of Jasper asleep at the wheel (barrow) since it seems to perpetuate a popular stereotype of slaves as lazy and shiftless, which was damaging to the image of blacks even after the abolition of slavery.
Quote #2
From Roxy's manner of speech, a stranger would have expected her to be black, but she was not. Only one-sixteenth of her was black, and that sixteenth did not show [. . .] To all intents and purposes Roxy was as white as anybody, but the one-sixteenth of her which was black out-voted the other fifteen parts and made her a negro. She was a slave and salable as such. (2.13-14)
It seems a little unfair and nonsensical that fifteen parts could be outvoted by one. But, as the novel suggests, what about slavery was fair or sensible?
Quote #3
"[. . . ] I will not only sell all four of you, but I will sell you DOWN THE RIVER!"
It was the equivalent to condemning them to hell! (2.36)
Percy's threat to sell his slaves down the river suggests that there was no such thing as a carefree time for slaves in the antebellum South, contrary to what Gone with the Wind might have us believe. As a piece of property, even a slave living in relatively decent conditions could find himself in hell if his master decided to cash in.
Quote #4
A profound terror had taken possession of [Roxy]. Her child could grow up and be sold down the river! The thought crazed her with horror. (3.1)
Sure, we know that slavery was physically and mentally grueling. But the prospect of being separated from loved ones made it an emotional misery as well.
Quote #5
[Roxy] was merely his chattel now, his convenience, his dog, his cringing and helpless slave, the humble and unresisting victim of his capricious temper and vicious nature. (4.21)
Don't expect a Mother's Day card when May rolls around, Roxy. The repetition of the possessive pronoun "his" drives home the idea that, as his slave, Roxy is without question one of Tom's belongings.
Quote #6
Tom's mother entered now, closing the door behind her, and approached her son with all the wheedling and supplicating servilities that fear and interest can impart to the words and attitudes of the born slave. (8.38)
It'd be a mistake to think that slaves were utterly powerless victims. Just look at how foxy Roxy craftily uses her slave role to her advantage by fawning and sucking up to Tom in order to get him to give her what she wants.
Quote #7
"You's a n*****!—bawn a n***** en a slave!—en you's a n***** en a slave dis minute; en if I opens my mouf old Marse Driscoll'll sell you down de river befo' you is two days older den what you is now!" (9.15)
POP (that was the sound of Roxy bursting Tom's bubble).
Quote #8
And all the time, hatred of [Tom's] ostensible "uncle" was steadily growing in his heart; for he said to himself, "He is white; and I am his chattel, his property, his goods, and he can sell me, just as he could his dog." (10.10)
What goes around comes around, eh? Tom's realization about his uncle is eerily similar to Roxy's discovery earlier in the novel (4.21) that she is Tom's "chattel" and "dog."
Quote #9
"[. . .] But how am I going to sell you? You're free, you know."
"De law kin sell me now if dey tell me to leave de state in six months en I don't go. You draw up a paper—bill o' sale—en put it 'way off yonder, down in de middle o' Kaintuck somers, en sign some names to it, en say you'll sell me cheap 'ca'se you's hard up; you'll find you ain't gwyne to have no trouble." (16.10-11)
Sheesh. Roxy's reply to Tom shows just how precarious and unstable the situations of "free slaves" were prior to the Civil War. Even though Percy Driscoll set Roxy free on his deathbed, laws designed to keep blacks in a subordinate position could still restrict her freedom.
Quote #10
By agreement, the conversation in Roxy's presence was all about the man's 'up-country' farm, and how pleasant a place it was, and how happy the slaves were there; so poor Roxy was entirely deceived. (16.12)
Even if Roxy were headed to a place like this, some might argue that Southern plantations on which slave were treated well were just as sinister as those with more punishing conditions since they made slavery seem palatable to Northerners.