How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Are you the boy who walks with his colored maid to the bus stop? (2.43)
Victor is growing up in an era when everyone pays attention to the color of your skin. Mrs. Worthington even finds it notable that he goes to the bus stop with Mam… which feels like the most normal thing in the world to Victor.
Quote #2
I liked all the colored junkmen who pushed their carts around our neighborhood because they minded their own business and just nodded at me when they passed and that meant I didn't have to go to the trouble of trying to figure out how to say anything. (3.27)
There's definitely a divide between white and black in Memphis when Victor is growing up. He sees black people walking by and through the streets, but they don't live in the same neighborhood as him and they don't get to go to the same places.
Quote #3
I thought about how Mam never got to go on trips or do anything special because she was always taking care of me and cleaning my parents' house and washing clothes and sewing on buttons. When she did get to leave for a few days she came back with her face all busted up. (11.51)
The older Victor gets, the more he realizes that things aren't fair in life. Mam works so hard, but because she's his family's black domestic help, she never gets to do fun things or enjoy her life.