How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[Roxy] had an easy, independent carriage—when she was among her own caste—and a high and 'sassy' way, withal; but of course she was meek and humble enough where white people were. (2.13)
Roxy's way of altering her identity around white people sounds an awful lot like what twentieth-century black historian W.E.B. DuBois described as African Americans' sense of double consciousness, or the "sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others." [Source: W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, New York: Gramercy Books, 1994 (1903, original publication date)]
Quote #2
Was [Roxy] bad? Was she worse than the general run of her race? No. They had an unfair show in the battle of life, and they held it no sin to take military advantage of the enemy—in a small way; in a small way, but not in a large one. (2.33)
Twain sure likes his metaphors tough and gritty. By using the words "battle" and "military advantage," the narrator employs the language of war to emphasize the hostility and threats of violence that are the hallmarks of a racially prejudiced society.
Quote #3
Tom did his humble comrade these various ill turns partly out of native viciousness, and partly because he hated [Chambers] for his superiorities of physique and pluck, and for his manifold clevernesses. (4.12)
Lots of readers have scratched their heads at this one. For all of the novel's emphasis on the role of upbringing on character, it's kind of weird that Tom's bad qualities are described as the result of native or natural viciousness. And the fact that he is the true black child has led some critics to wonder if the novel is confused when it comes to race.