How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
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)
Roxy's super emotional reaction to the prospect of being separated from her son defies a belief common in the 19th century that black women didn't feel as much attachment to their own children as they did to the white children they cared for.
Quote #2
[Roxy] paused awhile, thinking; then she burst into wild sobbings again, and turned away, saying, "Oh, I got to kill my chile, dy ain't no yuther way—killin' him wouldn't save de chile fum goin' down de river. Oh, I got to do it, yo' po' mammy's got to kill you to save you, honey." (3.3)
If Roxy had gone through with this plan, not only would she be saving her son from slavery, she'd be making a pretty big statement. Infanticide, or the killing of an infant, was considered a form of resistance to slavery since it was a way in which black women could destroy the property of their masters.
Quote #3
[Roxy] saw her darling gradually cease from being her son, she saw that detail perish utterly; all that was left was master—pure and simple, and it was not a gentle mastership, either. She saw herself sink from the sublime height of motherhood to the somber depths of unmodified slavery. (4.21)
Uh, maybe this whole switching babies thing wasn't such a great idea after all. It seems that Roxy was so concerned with helping her son escape slavery that she didn't consider the consequences for herself until it was too late.
Quote #4
And yet the moment Tom happened to be good to [Roxy], and kind—and this occurred every now and then—all her sore places were healed, and she was happy; happy and proud, for this was her son, her n***** son, lording it among the whites and securely avenging their crimes against her race. (4.25)
Only his own mother could possibly see Tom as noble. How exactly does he help to avenge crimes against the black race?
Quote #5
"It's jes de truth, en nothin' but de truth, so he'p me. Yessir—you's my son [. . .]" (9.17)
That's kind of a bombshell there, Roxy. How does her decision to blackmail Tom with the information that he is her son affect or change their relationship?
Quote #6
"[. . .] You can't call me Roxy, same as if you was my equal. Chillen don't speak to dey mammies like dat. You'll call me ma or mammy, dat's what you'll call me [. . .]" (9.29)
Yes, ma'am(my)! Why do you think it's so important to Roxy that Tom call her ma or mammy?
Quote #7
When Roxana arrived, she found her son in such despair and misery that her heart was touched and her motherhood rose up strong in her. He was ruined past hope, now; his destruction would be immediate and sure, and he would be an outcast and friendless. That was reason enough for a mother to love a child; so she loved him and told him so. It made him wince secretly—for she was a "nigger". (16.1)
Another Hallmark card moment ruined. While Roxy's bond to her son allows her to feel sympathy and love for Tom despite all of his jerkiness, Tom makes it clear that Roxy's race trumps any filial attachment.
Quote #8
"Dy ain't nothin' a white mother won't do for her chile. Who made 'em so? De Lord done it. En who made de n*****s? De Lord made 'em. In de inside, mothers is all de same." (16.6)
By daring to suggest that mothers are all alike inside regardless of race, our bold Roxy undermines a lot of nineteenth-century literature, which emphasized that white and black women were practically two different species.
Quote #9
"I's gwyne to be sole into slavery, en in a year you's gwyne to buy yo' ole mammy free ag'in." (16.6)
Uh-oh. Roxy is usually a pretty smart cookie, but it doesn't seem like the wisest move to trust her fate to the devious Tom. It just goes to show just how much her love for her child at times prevents her from thinking straight.
Quote #10
For a whole week [Tom] was not able to sleep well, so much the villainy which he had played upon his trusting mother preyed upon his rag of a conscience; but after that he began to get comfortable again, and was presently able to sleep like any other miscreant. (16.14)
Wow, a whole week of tossing and turning for Tom—poor guy. Tom certainly doesn't lose a whole lot of sleep over exploiting Roxy's blind motherly devotion.