How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"But you must pretend to be our maidservant, no more. Always. It is against King's Law for any commoner to read or write." (25.30)
And here we have it: it's actually illegal for peasants to learn to read or write in this world. If that's not an obvious way of keeping the lower classes down, we don't know what is. For this reason, it's especially transgressive for Sadima to secretly teach herself how to read. Hopefully no one finds out…
Quote #8
"What was the best meal you ever had?" I asked him quietly.
He was silent so long I thought he wasn't going to answer me, but then he spoke. "A rich lady bought me a dish of fish stew once. From a vendor. She leaned down to put it in my hand and I could smell her perfume. I ran away from her, to hide before the bigger boys saw what I had." (34.23-34)
Poor Gerrard. He's never had a decent meal in his life, except for this one bowl of fish stew that a rich lady gave him. And even then, he had to gobble it down in secret, because the older boys would've probably tried to beat him up and take it. That's a crummy way to grow up if you ask us.
Quote #9
"My parents sold me to Somiss's father. The money kept them fed and warm for five winters." (43.15)
Franklin finally tells Sadima what the deal is between him and Somiss. He's actually a slave who belongs to Somiss's father. It's a bummer that slavery exists in this world, seeing as it's completely unethical to own another human being. But it's also an expression of the most basic social class issues, like who gets to be free vs. who is considered property. Guess which category poor people fall into most often?