Pride

“One of Sofia children break in, the oldest boy. He tall and handsome, all the time serious. And mad a lot.

He say, Don’t say slaving, Mama.

Sofia say, Why not? They got me in a little storeroom up under the house, hardly bigger than Odessa’s porch, and just about as warm in the winter time. I’m at they beck and call all night and all day. They won’t let me see my children. They won’t let me see no mens. Well, after five years they let me see you once a year. I’m a slave, she say. What would you call it?

A captive, he say.

Sofia go on with her story, only look at him like she glad he hers.”

This conversation lets readers know that the characters in this book knew how things were. They knew why they were treated the way they were treated, they knew what to expect, and how they were expected to behave. However, they refused to just lie down and let themselves be walked all over. This quote shows Sofia’s son showing a sense of pride not just for his mother, but for his people in general. He was not being rebellious about it, or staging a revolt, yet he was using the power of words to place her at a higher level.