How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I curtsied, bewildered at the speed of it all. Yesterday I had been aboard a ship. The day before that, sold in a tavern. The day before that, I woke up in my own bed and watched an old woman die. My belly ached again, as if I were still at sea and the waves were throwing me off balance. (5.95)
Dude. Even on our busiest days, we typically at least stay in the same location. Having your whole world turned upside down in the space of forty-eight hours would do a ton of damage to your identity. It's no wonder Isabel spends a lot of the book's opening traumatized and disoriented.
Quote #2
Being loyal to the one who owned me gave me prickly thoughts, like burrs trapped in my shift, pressing into my skin with every step. (6.35)
Becky's instruction that slaves are to follow their masters' political beliefs regardless of their own opinions leaves Isabel feeling a little ill. She may be new to the conflict between Loyalists and Patriots, but she clearly understands that there's something disturbing about letting another person dictate your beliefs rather than being allowed to develop your own.
Quote #3
I was lost. I knew that we were in the cellar of a house on Wall Street, owned by the Locktons, in the city of New York, but it was like looking at a knot, knowing it was a knot, but not knowing how to untie it. I had no map for this life. (8.7)
According to the rules of slavery, being sold to the Locktons pretty much erases every sense of identity Isabel's ever had. She doesn't know where she fits in this new world and is overwhelmed not just by the prospect of a new owner, but being in a huge city inflamed by war. Sounds like a pretty impossible knot to us.