How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Weaver always says freedom is like Sloan's Liniment, always promising more than it delivers. He says all it really means is being able to choose among the worst jobs at the logging camps, the hotels, and the tanneries. Until his people can work anywhere whites work, and speak their minds freely, and write books and get them published, until white men are punished for stringing up black men, no black person will ever really be free.
I was scared for Weaver sometimes. We had hillbillies in the North Woods, same as they had in Mississippi—ignorant folk just itching to blame their no-account lives on someone else—and Weaver never stepped off the sidewalk or doffed his hat. He'd scrap with anyone who called him n*****, and was never scared for himself. (3.abecedarian.54-55)
Focus on the phrase "freedom is […] always promising more than it delivers." How is this belief both true and false? Do you agree with Weaver's view of freedom? And also, examine what Mattie says about Weaver's character: he never gives in to social expectations of how he should act because of race; he never bows or scrapes to any white person. What does this reveal about Weaver's personality and what he believes and values?
Quote #5
Weaver shook me off. He turned around and smiled. A huge, horrible smile. "Why, sure, Mistuh Boss, suh!" he hollered. "I be right along, suh, right along! On de double!"
"Weaver!" his mother called. Her voice sounded frightened.
"Weaver, don't!" I hissed, not knowing what he was going to do but knowing from experience that it wouldn't be smart or good. (14.monochromatic.60-62)
When a man in the train station treats Weaver as a simple servant, Weaver code-switches, dropping his real persona and adapting a way of speaking that fits the man's idea of what a black man is or should be. Notice the change in his tone and his speaking. Notice, too, that Mattie and Weaver's mamma are scared for him. We have to wonder if Weaver is scared for himself or just angry, and where the emotion and drive to stand up for himself, given the lack of social power he possesses, comes from.
Quote #6
But she didn't get to finish her sentence, because another voice cut in. "No, mister, you surely don't want to make trouble. Best be on your way before his pa shows up. Or his brothers. He's got five. And each one of 'em's meaner than the next."
It was Royal. He was standing on the platform, arms crossed over his chest. He stood tall. His shoulders were broad under his shirt, his arms were thick and powerful. (14.monochromatic.76-77)
This is what makes race so complex in the novel: Royal, whom we know is a pretty insensitive, selfish jerk, stands up for Weaver and most likely prevents the situation from worsening. But why does he do it? Is he trying to get Mattie to think better of him, or is it because he's got a more complex view of race than we assume he would?