How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I don't believe you!" I exclaimed. "Justice is poorly served when you speak ill of your betters." It was a phrase I had heard my father use many times. (4.52)
Charlotte makes this declaration in reaction to Zachariah's story about Jaggery's cruelty, and given Zachariah's lowly status, she doesn't believe it for a minute (even though it's, well, totally true, as it turns out). Just because someone is poor or elderly or black, does that mean we shouldn't trust what he or she says? Is that really "justice"? That's what Charlotte seems to think here. We also learn that Charlotte's ideas about justice have been inherited from her father.
Quote #5
"If Captain Jaggery was so cruel, why should they have signed on again?"
Zachariah leaned close to me. "Revenge," he whispered.
"Revenge?" I echoed weakly.
The old man nodded. "Because of all this I gave you that dirk." (4.68-4.71)
While Jaggery is clearly a tyrant, the way that the men propose to deal with him is also a bit of a problem. How is cold-blooded revenge not an adequate system of justice? Does exacting personal revenge simply create a never-ending cycle of violence? (Think of all those tragedies out there, especially Romeo and Juliet.) Also, note that the men's need for revenge is precisely why Charlotte is given her own knife. Violence just begets more violence.
Quote #6
"And what kind of justice do you offer?" the captain asked. "Nothing precisely legal, I presume."
"We demand you stand before us in a trial of your peers," Cranick answered.
"Trial! Peers!" the captain cried mockingly. "I see nothing but ruffians and villains, the scum of the sea!"
"Then we proclaim ourselves your peers," Cranick cried. (10.30-10.33)
Cranick wants revenge for Captain Jaggery's crimes – crimes that were brought to the attention of the admiralty courts but went unpunished. Captain Jaggery, however, thinks this idea is ridiculous, since he views the men as mere "scum." Do you think the crew's social standing has any bearing on whether or not they deserve a fair judgment? Do you think mutiny is the best way to obtain justice?