TUR key quotes

Freedom/ enslavement

"To escape the boundary of the plantation was to escape the fundamental principles of your existence: impossible. (P.9)

Escape/ Cora’s journey with this

"Squinting over his idiocy..." (In reference to Caesar asking her to run away with him) (P.32)

Cora’s turning point for escape

(In reference to freedom) "It wriggled free like a fish and raced away. She would have to see it for herself if she were to keep it." (P.57)

SC’s positive change

“They stepped into the sunlight…” (P.84)

"She walked down the sidewalk as a freewoman. No one chased her or abused her." (P.104) 

"The soft cotton on her skin still thrilled her." (P.105)  

Sterilisation/ white supremacy/ control

"… the women were still being herded and domesticated... bred, neutered. Penned in dormitories that were like coops and hutches." (P.149)

"This is just a chance for you to take control over your own destiny." (P.134) 

"Mr. Fields's types were the only living exhibits." (P.137) 

"...You could be a true credit to your race if you put your mind to it." (P.152) 

Brutality/ violence of NC

"In North Carolina the n---- race did not exist except at the ends of ropes." (P.187)

"It would have been difficult to make out her tormentors with all the blood in her eyes." (P.191)

"The miserable thumping heart of the town." (P.192)  

"That damned dog cavorting in the spray." (P.202) 

Division within enslaved population

"Who knew what brand of mutiny the captives might cook up if they shared a common tongue." (P.4)

The existence of Hob, “where they banished the wretched”

“Moses had set himself up as a broker of cabin intrigues… Moses accepted his role with enthusiasm.” (P.18)

“White men and brown men had used the women’s bodies violently, their babies came out stunted and shrunken…”

Objectification

"If you were a thing- a horse or a cart or a slave- your value determined your possibilities." (P.7)

“Terrance inflicted every fleeting and deep-seated fantasy on all in his power.” (P.27)

Dehumanising

"Everybody knew n------ didn't have birthdays." (P.13)

"In death the n---- became a human being. Only then was he the white man's equal." (P.166) 

"All men are created equal, unless we decide you are not a man." (P.219) 

"Ethel thought it would be spiritually fulfilling to serve the Lord in dark Africa, delivering savages to the light." (P.229)

“They added a neck collar, iron links dropping to her wrists like moss. It gave her the posture of a beggar or praying mantis.” (P. 248) 

Twisted view of black people

“They call this road the Freedom Trail... the bodies go all the way to town." (P.183)

“In the dark, he said, coloured miscreants lurked to violate their citizens wives and daughters.” (P. 191)

"Ethel's father forbid her to play with Jasmine so as not to pervert the natural state of relations between the races." (P.230) 

Dehumanising/ violence

“Her grey tunic was torn and smeared with blood and filth, and her head had been crudely shaved.” (P.190)

"We abolished n------." (P.197)

"Caeser strung up by the grinning mob; Caeser a brutalised mess on the floor of the slave catcher's wagon..." (P.172) 

Ridgeway twisted idea of righteousness

"'You don't have to be afraid, Cora. You're going home.'" (P.225)

"In the chase his blood sang and glowed." (P.91) 

"… the underground railroad had a spur in Georgia. He would find it. He would destroy it." (P.98)

“To lift up the lesser races. If not lift up, subjugate. And if not subjugate, exterminate. Our destiny by divine prescription- the American imperative.” (P.266)

Division within enslaved population

"Off to Hob with those... crippled... broken... strays." (P.19)

“The one’s who kicked her or stole her food when her mother was gone.”

"Cora crept on Calvin after supper: I need help. He waved her away."

"Edward, Pot and two hands from the southern half dragged her behind the smokehouse." (P.25)

Cruelty of slave holders

"… called for their bloody backs to be scrubbed out with pepper water afterward." (P.43)

"Big Anthony was doused with oil and roasted... his manhood had been cut off on the first day, stuffed in his mouth, and sewn in." (P.55)

"... hooked through her ribs with a large metal spike and dangling." (P.250)

“…Terrance inflicted every fleeting and deep-seated fancy on all in his power." (P.27) 

labelling black people as dangerous

"… we could free them from bondage without fear that they'd butcher us in our sleep." (P.146)

"The corpses hung from trees as rotting ornaments. Some of them were naked, others partially clothed, the trousers black where their bowels emptied when their necks snapped." (P.182)

"In the dark, he said, coloured miscreants lurked to violate the citizens' wives and daughters." (P.191)

sickeningly normalised violence towards enslaved people

"When her father couldn't keep the pace of the long march, the slavers stove in his head and left his body by the trail." (P.1)

"She had seen men hung from trees and left for buzzards and crows. Women carved open to the bones with the cat-o'-nine tails." (P.40)

"Two other women took their own lives that spring, more than usual but nothing remarkable." (P.42)

psychological turmoil/ anguish

"Chained head to toe, head to toe, in exponential misery." (P.4).  

"The labyrinth of bondage." (P.48) 

"Theirs was a pathetic goodbye, cut short by the whip of the trader." (P. 59)