Roots: The Saga of an American Family Race Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

[I]t occurred to Kunta than in some strong, strange, and very deep way, the blacks and the toubob had some need for each other. (46.28)

As Kunta notes, the slave owners never seem happier than when they are with black people, whether they're celebrating with them or abusing them. The psychology of this is so twisted that Sigmund Freud's head would explode just trying to figure it out.

Quote #5

"White man figger whoever somewhere 'fore him don't count. He call dem savages." (54.23)

Leave it to the fiddler to speak truth to power in the most concise way possible. If anything, the only thing we'd describe as savage is the mass enslavement of people.

Quote #6

But then, as Bell told Kunta later, from the moment the first carriage arrived, Missy Anne suddenly had acted as if she didn't even know [...] Kizzy. (81.22)

The relationship between Missy Anne and Kizzy both breaks our hearts and gives us insight into why Kunta is so opposed to interracial friendship—the scales of power are so heavily tipped in one direction that any real relationship is impossible. For Kizzy, this is an insanely sad realization, but a necessary one.