A cruel master, hateful of religion, superstitious, and determined to “break” Tom, Simon Legree is the novel’s antagonist. His plantation near the Red River is characterized by its state of physical and moral disrepair. Legree encourages his slaves and overseers, Sambo and Quimbo, to be cruel to one another in order to maintain total control over the lives of those on his estate. Legree beats Tom to death and cannot be tried for his crime, because there were no white witnesses to the act, and, according to law, he has only destroyed his property. Nevertheless George Shelby, Jr., curses Legree.
Simon Legree Quotes in Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Uncle Tom's Cabin quotes below are all either spoken by Simon Legree or refer to Simon Legree. 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 33
Quotes
Mas’r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,—I’ll die first!”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 40
Quotes
O, Mas’r! don’t bring this great sin on your soul. It will hurt you more than ‘twill me! Do the worst you can, my troubles’ll be over soon; but, if ye don’t repent, yours won’t never end!
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Simon Legree Quotes in Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Uncle Tom's Cabin quotes below are all either spoken by Simon Legree or refer to Simon Legree. 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 33
Quotes
Mas’r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,—I’ll die first!”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 40
Quotes
O, Mas’r! don’t bring this great sin on your soul. It will hurt you more than ‘twill me! Do the worst you can, my troubles’ll be over soon; but, if ye don’t repent, yours won’t never end!