How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Slaves don't read," Mr. Robert said. "I should beat you for lying, girl."
Pastor Weeks held up his hand. "It's true. Your aunt had some odd notions. She taught the child herself. I disapproved, of course. Only leads to trouble." (2.16-17)
Slaves knowing how to read does lead to trouble… for their owners. Isabel's eventual victory proves it. If she hadn't been able to read and write, she wouldn't have received the message of Common Sense, or even filled out the pass that gives her freedom. Clearly, slave owners recognized the power of language, and that keeping it out of the hands of enslaved people helps keep them obedient and inferior. Fortunately, Isabel is an anomaly and is able to beat the system.
Quote #2
I could not see where we came from or where we were going. Maybe the ship would blow off course and land in a country without New York or people who bought and sold children. (4.5)
Isabel views a world without slavery with a kind of childish fancy that is heartbreaking for us to witness. The truth is, being a slave is the only existence she knows. She was born into it, and a life without its restrictions is impossible to imagine.
Quote #3
"You are a small black girl, Country," [Curzon] said bitterly. "You are a slave, not a person. They'll say things in front of you they won't say in front of the white servants. 'Cause you don't count to them." (6.62)
Curzon's observation that Loyalist commanders don't see their slaves as a threat if they witness sensitive conversations proves that slavery is meant to strip them of all power. Not Curzon, though—he's smart enough to know that in order to be truly owned, he has to consent to it by surrendering his thoughts and actions. Just because their owners don't give them credit to act on the information they hear doesn't mean that slaves can't do something with it.