How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
When Roxana arrived, she found her son in such despair and misery that her heart was touched and her motherhood rose up strong in her. He was ruined past hope, now; his destruction would be immediate and sure, and he would be an outcast and friendless. That was reason enough for a mother to love a child; so she loved him and told him so. It made him wince secretly—for she was a "nigger". (16.1)
Another Hallmark card moment ruined. While Roxy's bond to her son allows her to feel sympathy and love for Tom despite all of his jerkiness, Tom makes it clear that Roxy's race trumps any filial attachment.
Quote #8
"Dy ain't nothin' a white mother won't do for her chile. Who made 'em so? De Lord done it. En who made de n*****s? De Lord made 'em. In de inside, mothers is all de same." (16.6)
By daring to suggest that mothers are all alike inside regardless of race, our bold Roxy undermines a lot of nineteenth-century literature, which emphasized that white and black women were practically two different species.
Quote #9
"I's gwyne to be sole into slavery, en in a year you's gwyne to buy yo' ole mammy free ag'in." (16.6)
Uh-oh. Roxy is usually a pretty smart cookie, but it doesn't seem like the wisest move to trust her fate to the devious Tom. It just goes to show just how much her love for her child at times prevents her from thinking straight.