An eloquent, bombastic preacher, John Brown captivates the crowd at the “big meeting” in Georgia by using his voice like an instrument during his sermon. He is also the only character in the book identified by his real name, which alludes to the 19th century white abolitionist John Brown, who led an armed raid in Virginia in an attempt to lead a slave rebellion in the South.
John Brown Quotes in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man quotes below are all either spoken by John Brown or refer to John Brown. 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:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the W.W. Norton edition of Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man published in 2015.
Chapter 10
Quotes
I sat often with the tears rolling down my cheeks and my heart melted within me. Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs, has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience. Anyone who can listen to Negroes sing, “Nobody knows de trouble I see, Nobody knows but Jesus,” without shedding tears, must indeed have a heart of stone.
Related Characters:
The Narrator or “Ex-Colored Man” (speaker), John Brown, “Singing Johnson”
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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John Brown Character Timeline in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The timeline below shows where the character John Brown appears in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10
...congregated together for a week to celebrate and worship. This meeting centered on the preacher John Brown and the chorus leader “Singing Johnson,” whose presence reminded the narrator of religion’s foundational role...
(full context)
...an uncanny ability to know what hymn to sing when, even at important moments during John Brown ’s sermons. Listening to the songs, the narrator contemplated where they came from, who managed...
(full context)