How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Kunta wondered if he had gone mad. Naked, chained, shackled, he awoke on his back between two other men in a pitch darkness full of steamy heat and sickening stink. (34.1)
Kunta hardly remembers how he ended up in the hold of the slave ship, but he knows that it's the most horrifying experience of his life. It would be awful enough if he was suffering alone, but he's forced to witness the agony of men, women, and children as they suffer alongside him. This is the brutal reality of the American slave trade.
Quote #5
And he turned his thought to prayer for the souls of the men who had been thrown over the side, joined already with their ancestors. He envied them. (38.25)
At a certain point, Kunta's pain becomes so intense that he gives up his will to live. It's a heart-breaking moment, especially for someone as clearly bursting with life as him. If he wants to survive this experience, however, he'll need something to help keep hope alive. As it turns out, that thing is community.
Quote #6
And mingled with his agony was the smell of something like tar. He had though he knew all about suffering before, but this was worse. (50.2)
After his final escape attempt, Kunta's brutally beaten and his foot cut off by slave-catchers. It's one of the hardest passages in the novel to read. But this goes beyond the physical pain of the moment for Kunta—he'll never quite be the same again.