How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Yes," Granny said. "I am following Colonel Sartoris' instructions as I believe he meant them." (2.1.5)
Granny is a tough old bird, but there is one person she's willing to defer to. Even though she spends most of her time being bossy, as the lady of the house she feels that it is her duty to obey her son-in-law's instructions.
Quote #2
She came and shoved Joby aside and stooped to lift the trunk. "Git away, n*****," she said. Joby groaned, then he shoved Louvinia aside.
"Git away, woman," he said. He lifted his end of the trunk, then he looked back at Loosh who had never let his end down. (2.1.38-39)
You might wonder what keeps the slaves around once John is gone and the Yankees have all but kicked the Confederates' butts; it might be duty. They feel an obligation toward Granny and the rest of the Sartoris family, so though guys like Loosh leave first chance they get, they stay to fulfill their duties.
Quote #3
Father said…they not only possessed, but put into practice, ideas about social relationship that maybe fifty years after they were both dead people would have a name for....They believed that land did not belong to people but that people belonged to land and that the earth would permit them to live on and out of it and use it only so long as they behaved and that if they did not behave right, it would shake them off just like a dog getting rid of fleas. (2.2.15)
Uncle Buck and Uncle Buddy are ahead of their time. Instead of treating their plantation as though they had created it, they consider themselves almost guests on it. Their duty isn't to themselves, but rather to the earth. Now that's revolutionary.
Quote #4
"They are borrowed horses," Granny said. "I'm going to take care of them until I can return them." (3.1.3)
Granny knows her way around the five-finger discount. She and the boys stole some Yankee horses, but she considers them borrowed, and also feels responsible for keeping them safe until she can do the right thing and give them back.
Quote #5
"And dont yawl worry about Granny. She cide what she want and then she kneel down about ten seconds and tell God what she aim to do and then she git up and do hit." (3.2.34)
Granny, as we know, is a super strong-willed lady. But she does feel a duty to do the right thing. Even though Ringo jokingly characterizes her as someone who will do whatever she wants, the fact that she prays about it first shows that she does think about the responsibility that comes with her actions.
Quote #6
"I borrowed hit," Ringo said. "Twarn't no Yankees handy, so I never needed no paper." (4.1.62)
Everybody's ethics get all mixed up in the war. Granny had always disciplined the boys really harshly, but when she starts to see her duty to her family as more important than her personal ethics (she starts stealing), they start following her lead. Ringo steals a buggy in the heat of the moment in order to save Granny and Bayard and get home.
Quote #7
We sat down in our pew, like before there was a war only for Father: Granny still and straight in her Sunday calico dress and the shawl and the hat Mrs Compson had loaned her a year ago, straight and quiet with her hands holding her prayer book in her lap like always, though there hadn't been an Episcopal service in the church in almost three years now. (4.2.1)
The plantation family and the folks that live in the surrounding countryside continue to fulfill their religious duty and attend church services once a week. That commitment brings together some social classes that had been separated before the war, and the religion begins to create a new community of Southerners.
Quote #8
Each time Granny would make them tell what they intended to do with the money; and now she would make them tell her how they had spent it, and she would look at the book to see whether they had lied or not. (4.2.5)
Granny's mule-stealing business isn't used just for personal gain; Granny takes the proceeds and invests it in the community, letting everybody have a piece of the Yankee pie. She holds everyone to a high standard though, forcing them to be honest about what they will use the money for.
Quote #9
Then the wet red dirt began to flow into the grave, with the shovels darting and flicking slow and steady and the hill men waiting to take turns with the shovels because Uncle Buck would not let anyone spell him with his. (5.1.3)
The oldest guy in town, Uncle Buck doesn't let his age stop him. He feels a strong duty toward Granny, her family, and also the tradition of a proper burial. That commitment is probably what gives him the strength to keep digging longer than anybody else.
Quote #10
"Need me or not," he hollered, "by Godfrey, I'm going. You cant stop me. You mean to tell me you don't want me to go with you?" (5.1.7)
Once again, Uncle Buck sees duty bright and clear, ignoring the pesky details like his age, his poor health, and the tough job ahead. He knows that the boys will fulfill their own duty, avenging Granny's death, and he sees it as his own duty to help them.