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Mrs. Hightower
Calvin is Joanna’s grandfather. Born Calvin Burrington, he changed his name because he ran away from home before he was old enough to know how to spell Burrington and found Burden easier. A passionate abolitionist, he ends up being killed by a former slaveholder (along with his grandson, Calvin Jr.) in an argument about black enfranchisement.
Calvin Burden, Sr. Quotes in Light in August
The Light in August quotes below are all either spoken by Calvin Burden, Sr. or refer to Calvin Burden, Sr.. 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 11
Quotes
Remember this. Your grandfather and brother are lying there, murdered not by one white man but by the curse which God put on a whole race before your grandfather or your brother or me or you were even thought of. A race doomed and cursed to be forever and ever a part of the white race’s doom and curse for its sins. Remember that. His doom and his curse. Forever and ever. Mine. Your mother’s. Yours, even though you are a child. The curse of every white child that ever was born and that ever will be born.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Light in August LitChart as a printable PDF.
Calvin Burden, Sr. Quotes in Light in August
The Light in August quotes below are all either spoken by Calvin Burden, Sr. or refer to Calvin Burden, Sr.. 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 11
Quotes
Remember this. Your grandfather and brother are lying there, murdered not by one white man but by the curse which God put on a whole race before your grandfather or your brother or me or you were even thought of. A race doomed and cursed to be forever and ever a part of the white race’s doom and curse for its sins. Remember that. His doom and his curse. Forever and ever. Mine. Your mother’s. Yours, even though you are a child. The curse of every white child that ever was born and that ever will be born.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
