James

James

by

Percival Everett

Sammy is a young enslaved Black woman who works at Henderson’s mill, though Jim mistakes her for a man at first. Henderson has sexually abused Sammy, and she decides to take her chances with Jim rather than continue to endure her enslaver’s torment. Sammy reminds Jim of his daughter, Lizzie, and her death leaves him deeply affected.

Sammy Quotes in James

The James quotes below are all either spoken by Sammy or refer to Sammy. 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:
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance Theme Icon
).
Part 2, Chapter 6 Quotes

“We’re slaves. We’re not anywhere. Free person, he can be where he wants to be. The only place we can ever be is in slavery.” She looked at Norman. “Are you really a slave?” she asked.

“I am.”

“And you’re colored,” she said.

Norman nodded.

“Who can tell?”

“Nobody,” Norman said.

“Then why do you stay colored?”

“Because of my mother. Because of my wife. Because I don’t want to be white. I don’t want to be one of them.”

Related Characters: Norman (speaker), Sammy (speaker), James (Jim), Henderson, Norman’s Wife
Page Number: 219
Explanation and Analysis:
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James PDF

Sammy Quotes in James

The James quotes below are all either spoken by Sammy or refer to Sammy. 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:
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance Theme Icon
).
Part 2, Chapter 6 Quotes

“We’re slaves. We’re not anywhere. Free person, he can be where he wants to be. The only place we can ever be is in slavery.” She looked at Norman. “Are you really a slave?” she asked.

“I am.”

“And you’re colored,” she said.

Norman nodded.

“Who can tell?”

“Nobody,” Norman said.

“Then why do you stay colored?”

“Because of my mother. Because of my wife. Because I don’t want to be white. I don’t want to be one of them.”

Related Characters: Norman (speaker), Sammy (speaker), James (Jim), Henderson, Norman’s Wife
Page Number: 219
Explanation and Analysis: