How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
No one answered him and he said no more. When we reached the crossroads, he looked hopefully at us as if we might relent and say good-bye. But we did not relent and as I glanced back at him standing alone in the middle of the crossing, he looked as if the world itself was slung around his neck. (3.48)
Things look pretty rough for Jeremy Simms here. Just check out Taylor's word choice—it's very somber and heavy. Why is Jeremy "hopeful"? Why do you think he looks like "the world itself was slung around his neck"?
Quote #2
"Friends gotta trust each other, Stacey, 'cause ain't nothin' like a true friend." (4.117)
Irony alert. First, T.J. says that friends have to trust each other. But think about what he's doing right now: going through Mrs. Logan's room to find the test questions. Second, T.J. is not a true friend to Stacey, but Stacey is a true friend to T.J.
Quote #3
Anybody who was a friend of Papa's was all right in our book; besides, when he was near, night men and burnings and midnight tarrings faded into a hazy distance. (4.119)
Friendship is security, like a warm blanket. Mr. Morrison is a friend, and brings Cassie a feeling of safety. He would need one honkin' huge blanket for himself, though.
Quote #4
"It—it ain't much," stammered Jeremy as Stacey tore off the wrapping. "M-made it myself." Stacey slid his fingers down the smooth, sanded back of a wooden flute. "Go 'head and try it," said a pleased Jeremy. "It blows real nice." (7.85)
We have to hand it to Jeremy for putting himself out there like this. Why do you think Jeremy's stammering here? What kind of a risk is he taking as he gives this gift to Stacey? Ugh, this scene kind of bums us out.
Quote #5
"Actually, he's much easier to get along with than T.J.," Stacey went on. 'And I s'pose if I let him, he could be a better friend than T.J." (7.106)
For Taylor, friendship is not just a black and white issue (so to speak). It's shaded and nuanced. T.J. may be black, but he's actually less of a friend than Jeremy, who's too dangerous to befriend.
Quote #6
"Far as I'm concerned, friendship between black and white don't mean that much 'cause it usually ain't on an equal basis. Right now you and Jeremy might get along fine, but in a few years he'll think of himself as a man but you'll probably still be a boy to him. And if he feels that way, he'll turn on you in a minute." (7.107)
This is a hard lesson for Stacey to learn: he can't be friends with Jeremy because the two aren't on equal footing. In what ways has this changed since the 1930s? Do you think that everyone is on equal footing now, so that this type of friendship can totally work?
Quote #7
"Maybe one day whites and blacks can be real friends, but right now the country ain't built that way. Now you could be right 'bout Jeremy making a much finer friend than T.J. ever will be. The trouble is, down here in Mississippi, it costs too much to find out . . . So I think you'd better not try." (7.109)
Is it worth the risk for Stacey to try out a friendship with Jeremy? What do you think would happen in a sequel to this story that featured a growing friendship between Stacey and T.J. as the main plotline? Do you think the same type of violence might erupt as happens here?
Quote #8
As I stood in the doorway, he lingered over [the flute], then, carefully rewrapping it, placed it in his box of treasured things. I never saw the flute again. (7.111)
Stacey clearly values the flute that Jeremy has made for him. He "linger[s]" over it, and then places it in his treasure box. What is the significance of Cassie never seeing the flute again? Do you think that has positive or negative connotations?
Quote #9
"They just don't do him right."
"How?" asked Stacey.
"Thought you didn't like him no more."
"Well. . . I don't," replied Stacey defensively. 'But I heard he was running 'round with R.W. and Melvin. I wondered why." (9.17-20)
Stacey clearly still feels something in the friendship realm towards T.J., and doesn't like how he's being treated. The suspicious pause here clinches it.
Quote #10
As far back as I could remember, Stacey had felt a responsibility for T.J. I had never really understood why. Perhaps he felt that even a person as despicable as T.J. needed someone he could call "friend," or perhaps he sensed T.J."s vulnerability better than T.J. did himself. (11.41)
Friends—or frenemies? What are some characteristics of their relationship that qualify as "friendship"? In what ways does their relationship seem to not be "friendship"?