How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"What did you say?" Bea asked, looking up at me. Her little overpowdered white face was as wrinkled as a prune. Her blue-dyed hair was so thin you could see her gray skull. Only her grayish-blue eyes were still alive and youthful, but now angry. "What did you say?" she asked me again. "You told her don't? This is not Seven Oakes, Miss, this is Marshall. At Marshall I say don't and I say do. She looked at Janey just as hard as she had looked at me. "What are you waiting on?" she asked her.
"Yes, Ma'am," Janey said, and went back inside. (3.89)
Well, now. Miss Merle and Miss Bea are both a couple of wealthy white ladies, but it sure sounds like there's a little power struggle going on in the above passage, huh? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Miss Merle has a thing for the Major.
Quote #2
It started over a Coke bottle. After Fix had drunk his Coke, he wanted Mathu to take the empty bottle back in the store. Mathu told him he wasn't nobody's servant. Fix told him he had to take the bottle back into the store or fight.
A bunch of us was out there, white and Black, sitting on the garry eating gingerbread and drinking pop. The sheriff, Guidry, was there, too. Mathu told Guidry if Fix started anything, he was go'n to protect himself. Guidry went on eating his gingerbread and drinking pop like he didn't even hear him.
When Fix told Mathu to take the bottle back in the store again, and Mathu didn't, Fix hit him—and the fight was on. Worst fight I ever seen in my life. For a hour it was toe to toe. But when it was over, Mathu was up, and Fix was down. The white folks wanted to lynch Mathu, but Guidry stopped them. (4.26-8)
If this passage looks kind of familiar, it should, but we've included it here again because it's extra important. And that's because it has a whole lot less to do with an empty Coke bottle than it does with struggle over power between two major characters.
Quote #3
Now she started telling me what happened. I listened good, but I could see from the start that she was lying. For one thing, I knowed what Mathu meant to that family, and specially to her. Besides that, she was trying too hard to make me believe her. Like most of these white folks you'll find round here, when they trying to convince you they'll look you dead in the eye, daring you to think otherwise from what they want you to think. (7.1)
Now this sure is something. Here, we've got Candy talking like she's got some real power and authority—which she does—but then we get the commentary from Clatoo that lets us know he's just playing along with it all. Doesn't that kind of mean that Candy doesn't have as much power as she thinks she does here?