How we cite our quotes: (Story.Section.Paragraph) or (Story.Paragraph)
Quote #4
He had been painfully aware that he was on exhibit, like Frederick Douglass had been for the Abolitionists. But unlike Douglass he had no oratorical gift, no passionate language, no silver tongue. He knew the rich people and his own leaders perceived he was nothing… (Luna.68)
Walker tells herself this story about how Freddie Pye, Luna's rapist, came to spend the night with Luna at the apartment she shared with her. It's important to remember that this is total guesswork on Walker's part. Her goal is to turn Luna and Freddie into characters she can force into dialogue with each other. That way, they can make sense of the rape and move toward a more just balance of power. But it doesn't happen. Luna's story—and the massive injustice on both sides—remains unresolved.
Quote #5
[…] you find it hard to believe a black man could be hired by someone to rape white women. But think a minute, and you will see why it is the perfect disruptive act. Enough blacks raping or accused of raping enough white women and any political movement that cuts across racial lines is doomed. (Luna.80)
Walker talks about Luna with a Black American artist in Cuba. He thinks that Walker hasn't considered all the possibilities in Luna's experiences. Here, he suggests a particularly sinister turn of events, that Freddie Pye did not just randomly pick Luna for violence. It's a conspiracy theory of the highest order, but the muralist promises that it could be for real. He talks about rape as a deliberate, politically motivated "disruptive act," something that could polarize people of both races so that racial relations never improve. It's a chilling thought—and one that Walker isn't totally ready to accept.
Quote #6
I want so much to make love to you as we never could do. I hope you know how I lost part of my brain working for your people in the South. I miss you. Come soon. (Laurel.66)
Okay, we hardly have to do any interpretive work on this one for you. Laurel pulls out all the stops here to convince the narrator to leave her husband and consummate the relationship that never got off the ground between them years before. Laurel's phrasing is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but we get a feeling that Walker has heard such ham-handed guilt trips before. Ugh.