James

“I had never seen a white man filled with such fear. The remarkable truth, however, was that it was not the pistol, but my language, the fact that I didn’t conform to his expectations, that I could read, that had so disturbed and frightened him.”

LanguageFearRaceExpectationsAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsWhitesSlaves

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“I was as much scared as angry, but where does a slave put anger? We could be angry with one another; we were human. But the real source of our rage had to go without address, swallowed, repressed.”

FearRaceAngerSlaveryRageAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsRepressionSlaves

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“I hope they never find you," Huck said. "You'll be wishin' you was drowned in the Mississippi." "Yes?" "They want to hang you twice." I nodded. I realized I couldn't be made more afraid than I was, than I had been my entire life.”

FearSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksSlavesFugitivesFugitive Slaves

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“It was clear that the people we had escaped on the beach were not following us; they were too concerned with being survivors. White people often spent time admiring their survival of one thing or another. I imagined it was because so often they had no need to survive, but only to live.”

LivingSurvivalSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksSurvivorsWhitesSlaves

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“White folks watch us work and forget how long we're left alone in our heads. Working and waiting." I smiled. "If only they knew the danger in that.”

ThinkingWaitingRaceAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsWorkingWhitesSlaves

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“I cain't believe Miss Watson gone sell you. I mean, she likes you." "I reckon she likes money mo'. Mos' peoples likes money mo' 'n anythin' else. White folks, anyways.”

MoneyRaceSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsWhitesSlaves

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“Where am I?" I asked. "You're in Illinois," the old man said. "So, I'm in a free state?" The men laughed. "Boy, you're in America," a muscular man said.”

AmericaFreedomUnited StatesSlaveryUnited States Of AmericaAfrican AmericansBlacksSlaves

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“Across the water was a town and I guessed, from all I'd heard, that it might be Cairo. I wished that had mattered. A fugitive slave was a slave in a free state just the same.”

FreedomSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksSlavesFugitivesFugitive Slaves

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“He was enjoying himself and that was all right with me. It always made life easier when white folks could laugh at a poor slave now and again. "I had you goin'," Huck said. I acted like he'd hurt my feelings. White people love feeling guilty.”

RaceLaughterPrejudiceSlaveryAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsMockeryWhitesSlaves

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“We started to laugh and then we spotted a white man up the road. There was nothing that irritated white men more than a couple of slaves laughing. I suspected they were afraid we were laughing at them or else they simply hated the idea of us having a good time.”

HumorRaceLaughingAfrican AmericansBlacksRace RelationsMockeryWhitesSlavesMaking Fun Of

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