How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"And that's all we are, Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood, until we—each one of us, individually—decide to become something else." (24.48)
Grant compares Jefferson to a piece of rough wood that can be carved smooth into whatever he wants to be. The key is that each person has to decide to become something else—there's no whittler wandering around picking each of us up and telling us what to be.
Quote #8
Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs. (28.17)
This is a sample of Jefferson's writing. This line is super-important because it shows us Jefferson drawing a line in the sand between man and beast. Now he just has to choose which one to act like.
Quote #9
"'Cause I'm go'n die soon? That make me a man, Mr. Wiggins?" (28.96)
Jefferson brings up a good, but difficult point. Mr. Wiggins wouldn't have paid any attention to Jefferson if he hadn't been sentenced to death. He would just end up like all of the other kids that graduated from Wiggins' classes. But his circumstances are extraordinary, so that requires Jefferson to mature extraordinarily.