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John Manly
Joe Green is 14 years old when John Manly hires him to take James’s place at Birtwick. Joe is small for his age, young, and inexperienced, but he’s desperate to learn—and even Merrylegs says after a week that he thinks Joe will turn out just fine. Soon after James leaves, though, Joe is tasked with caring for Black Beauty after a long gallop all on his own. Joe doesn’t know what to do, so he doesn’t properly care for Black Beauty—and Black Beauty falls seriously ill. Joe feels terrible for almost killing Black Beauty, but in the years after this, Joe throws himself into learning everything he can. Black Beauty feels like Joe transforms suddenly into a man one day when Joe tells a carter to stop whipping his horses and is later asked to give evidence in the man’s trial. Like his mentor John, Joe believes in standing up for people and animals who cannot stand up for themselves. Black Beauty figures he’ll never see Joe again when the Gordons move, as Joe goes to care for Merrylegs at the vicarage. But years later, the two reconnect when Black Beauty is sold to three ladies who employ Joe as their groom. By this point, Joe is an unrecognizable adult, but he’s still as kind and good as he was as a boy. He convinces the ladies to keep Black Beauty and call him by his old name.
Joe Green Quotes in Black Beauty
The Black Beauty quotes below are all either spoken by Joe Green or refer to Joe Green. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 19
Quotes
“Well, John! thank you, I knew you did not wish to be too hard, and I am glad you see it was only ignorance.”
John’s voice almost startled me as he answered, “Only ignorance! only ignorance! how can you talk about only ignorance? Don’t you know that it is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness?—and which does the most mischief, heaven only knows. If people can say, ‘Oh, I did not know, I did not mean any harm,’ they think it is all right. I suppose Martha Mulwash did not mean to kill that baby, when she dosed it with Dalby, and soothing syrups; but she did kill it, and was tried for manslaughter.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Black Beauty LitChart as a printable PDF.
Joe Green Quotes in Black Beauty
The Black Beauty quotes below are all either spoken by Joe Green or refer to Joe Green. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 19
Quotes
“Well, John! thank you, I knew you did not wish to be too hard, and I am glad you see it was only ignorance.”
John’s voice almost startled me as he answered, “Only ignorance! only ignorance! how can you talk about only ignorance? Don’t you know that it is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness?—and which does the most mischief, heaven only knows. If people can say, ‘Oh, I did not know, I did not mean any harm,’ they think it is all right. I suppose Martha Mulwash did not mean to kill that baby, when she dosed it with Dalby, and soothing syrups; but she did kill it, and was tried for manslaughter.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
