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Ken: How much does your wife charge?

Meridian: Now you got it. You really got it now. That’s them. Keep walking, Arthur. Keep walking!

Tom: You get your ass off these streets from around here, boy, or we going to do us some cutting—we’re going to cut that big, black thing off of you, you hear?

Related Characters: Meridian Henry (speaker), Willa Mae , Lyle Britten

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

Meridian Henry is a Black Christian minister who helps to organize protests for racial justice during the African-American civil rights movement (1954–1968). In this passage, he is coaching several Black students, including Ken, Tom, and Arthur, as they roleplay ignoring taunts or threats by white protestors during a nonviolent protest. During the roleplay, Ken and Tom taunt and threaten Arthur with distinctly sexual overtones, thereby emphasizing early in the play the importance of sexual stereotypes to anti-Black racism in a white-supremacist society. When Ken asks, “How much does your wife charge?”, he is imagining a white heckler who assumes—or pretends Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto

Lorenzo: Mother Henry, I got a lot of respect for you and all that, and for Meridian too, but that white man’s God is white. It’s that damn white God that’s been lynching us and burning us and castrating us and raping our women and robbing us of everything that makes a man a man for all these hundreds of years. Now, why we sitting around here, in His house?

Related Characters: Lorenzo Shannon (speaker), Mother Henry, Meridian Henry

Page Number and Citation: 4

Explanation and Analysis:

Lorenzo Shannon, a Black college student who protests for racial justice during the African-American civil rights movement, is questioning why two other racial-justice protestors—elderly Mother Henry and her son, Christian minister Meridian Henry—continue to be devout Christians and to organize protests for racial justice out of the Christian God’s “house,” i.e. a church. Lorenzo is not speaking literally when he calls the Christian God “that damn white God” and claims that the Christian God has been “lynching,” “burning,” “castrating,” “raping,” and “robbing” Black people for “hundreds of years.” Rather, Lorenzo is indirectly pointing out that many African American Christians are Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus

Juanita: And then you wouldn’t be any better than they are.

Lorenzo: I don’t want to be better than they are, why should I be better than they are? And better at what? Better at being a doormat, better at being a corpse?

Related Characters: Lorenzo Shannon (speaker), Juanita Harmon (speaker)

Related Symbols: Guns

Page Number and Citation: 4

Explanation and Analysis:

Racial-justice protestor Lorenzo has just expressed a desire to commit public violence against the Christian God, whom he considers a racially white God responsible for white violence against Black people. Another protestor, Juanita, retorts that such violence would mean that Lorenzo wasn’t “any better than they [i.e. violent white people] are.” Juanita’s claim suggests that oppressed people should care about being “better” than their oppressors—about maintaining the moral high ground and avoiding culpable violence. This idea, among others, animates the implicitly Christian ideals of nonviolent resistance that the protestors in the play are currently following. Lorenzo rejects the Christian ideal Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum e

Parnell: You may think that a colored boy who gets ruined in the North and then comes home to try to pull himself together deserves to die—I don’t.

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker), Lyle Britten, Richard Henry

Page Number and Citation: 14

Explanation and Analysis:

Parnell James, a relatively liberal white Southerner in the 1960s, has been working behind the scenes to ensure that the police arrest racist white man Lyle Britten for the murder of a young Black man, Richard Henry. When the police agree to arrest Lyle, Parnell goes to deliver the news to Lyle himself—because Lyle is his longtime friend. After Parnell delivers the news, Lyle says the arrest is nonsense and then criticizes Richard, claiming that living in the North “ruined” him. Parnell’s retort reveals both his racial progressivism relative to Lyle and the limits of Parnell’s anti-racism. When Lyle says Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam

Richard: My mother fell down the steps of that damn white hotel? My mother was pushed—you remember yourself how them white bastards was always sniffing around my mother, always around her—because she was pretty and black!

Related Characters: Richard Henry (speaker), Mother Henry

Page Number and Citation: 20–21

Explanation and Analysis:

In a flashback, Richard Henry—who has returned to his childhood home after eight years in New York City to recover from a heroin addiction—is talking with his grandmother Mother Henry about his mother’s death, the event that led Richard to leave the South in the first place. Richard’s mother was found dead at the bottom of some rain-soaked stairs at a white hotel (presumably her place of employment). Though Mother Henry claims that Richard’s mother died in an accidental fall, Richard insists that she “was pushed.” Richard’s justification for believing that his mother was murdered illuminates the different ways that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Im

Richard: Every one of them’s got some piss-assed, faggoty white boy on a string somewhere. They go home and marry him, dig, when they can’t make it with me no more—but when they want some loving, funky, down-home, bring-it-on-here-and-put-it-on-the-table style—

Juanita: They sound very sad. It must be very sad for you, too.

Related Characters: Juanita Harmon (speaker), Richard Henry (speaker), Pete Spivey, Meridian Henry

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

Richard, recently returned home to the South from New York City, has gone out with college students and racial-justice protestors Juanita and Pete for drinks and dancing. Richard is bragging about taking money from his white girlfriends who want him for his superior “loving,” i.e. sexual prowess. This quotation shows how Richard has reacted to feelings of being “emasculated” in a white-supremacist society with internalized racism and unproductive attempts at revenge. The audience already knows that Richard believes his mother was murdered by a white man whose sexual advances she refused; he feels that he and his father have been Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae co

Meridian: Of course, if you go back far enough, you get to a point before Christ, if you see what I mean, B.C.—and at that point, I’ve been thinking, black people weren’t raised to turn the other cheek, and in the hope of heaven. No, then they didn’t have to take low. Before Christ. They walked around just as good as anybody else, and when they died, they didn’t go to heaven, they went to join their ancestors.

Related Characters: Meridian Henry (speaker), Parnell James, Richard Henry, Lyle Britten

Page Number and Citation: 38

Explanation and Analysis:

After Lyle murders Richard, Meridian—who has been organizing nonviolent protests for racial justice—talks to his white friend Parnell James about whether Christian-inflected pacifism is really the right approach to fighting for racial justice. The phrase “turn the other cheek” refers to the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus Christ advises his followers not to return violence for violence: “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:39). When Meridian says that Black people have been “raised” in Christian nonviolence “in the hope of heaven,” he means that Christianity teaches that people Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferend

Parnell: He’s a poor white man. The poor whites have been just as victimized in this part of the world as the blacks have ever been!

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker), Richard Henry, Meridian Henry, Old Bill, Lyle Britten

Page Number and Citation: 41

Explanation and Analysis:

After Lyle Britten is arrested on suspicion of having murdered Richard, Meridian talks with Parnell—a white man who is friends with both Meridian and Lyle—about Lyle. Though Parnell himself helped pressure the police chief into arresting Lyle, he asks Meridian to consider whether Lyle might be innocent in Richard’s death. When Meridian points out that Lyle has previously killed a Black man—though the killing was tendentiously ruled “self-defense”—Parnell tries to argue that Lyle isn’t a bad person, just a “poor white man” who has thus been “victimized” like Black people in the South. Parnell’s argument has two functions. One, it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci

Parnell: Meridian—what you ask—I don’t know if I can do it for you.

Meridian: I don’t want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for you.

Related Characters: Meridian Henry (speaker), Parnell James (speaker), Lyle Britten, Richard Henry

Page Number and Citation: 43

Explanation and Analysis:

Meridian has requested that Parnell ask Lyle Britten whether Lyle murdered Meridian’s son Richard. In response, Parnell, who is friends with both Meridian and Lyle, admits, “I don’t know if I can”—suggesting both that Parnell fears betraying his friendship with Lyle and that he fears finding out who Lyle really is. Meridian replies that Parnell wouldn’t be doing it for Meridian but for himself. This reply illuminates why, in the play’s view, white people should be anti-racist. White anti-racism isn’t about white people doing Black people a favor, just as Parnell asking Lyle whether he killed Richard wouldn’t be about Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volu

Ellis: Mrs. Britten, if you was to be raped by a orang-outang out of the jungle or a stallion, couldn’t do you no worse than a nigger. You wouldn’t be no more good for nobody. I’ve seen it

[…]

That’s why we men have got to be so vigilant.

Related Characters: Lyle Britten, Jo Britten, Richard Henry

Page Number and Citation: 50

Explanation and Analysis:

After the news that Lyle will be arrested for Richard Henry’s murder spreads through town, some white townspeople come to Lyle’s house to show support for Lyle. When the talk turns to race relations, the white townspeople begin to make racist and segregationist comments. Through one such comment, by a white man named Ellis, the play explores the dehumanizing racism and sexism behind white supremacy’s fear of interracial romantic relationships. Ellis dehumanizes Black men, referring to them using a racial slur, by comparing them to “a orang-outang” or a “stallion.” He is essentially claiming that Black men have animalistically large Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantiu

Lillian: I wouldn’t filthy my hands with that Communist sheet!

Parnell: Ah? But the father of your faith, the cornerstone of that church of which you are so precious an adornment, was a communist, possibly the first.

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker), Richard Henry, Lyle Britten, Jo Britten

Page Number and Citation: 52

Explanation and Analysis:

After Parnell enters Jo and Lyle’s house, where white townspeople have gathered to support Lyle in anticipation of his arrest for the murder of Richard Henry, various white townspeople criticize Parnell for his relatively progressive racial politics. When one woman named Lillian accuses the newspaper Parnell runs of being “Communist,” Parnell retorts that “the father of [her] faith,” i.e. Jesus Christ, “was a communist, possibly the first.” The exchange between Lillian and Parnell reveals the narrow-mindedness and hypocrisy of the town’s nominally Christian white population. The play, which was published in 1964, takes place during the Cold War (1947–1991), decades Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure

Parnell: It means that if I have a hundred dollars, and I’m black, and you have a hundred dollars, and you’re white, I should be able to get as much value for my hundred dollars—my black hundred dollars—as you get for your white hundred dollars. It also means that I should have an equal opportunity to earn that hundred dollars—

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 54

Explanation and Analysis:

Parnell is attempting to explain to a group of hostile white townspeople what he means by social justice. Though the white townspeople keep assuming he is talking about interracial romantic relationships, Parnell cashes out his concept of social justice in economic terms, arguing that social justice involves two elements: getting “as much value” for $100 regardless of your race, and having “an equal opportunity to earn” $100. In other words, Parnell believes that social justice involves equality among consumers and equality among jobseekers. Interestingly, although the white people around Parnell keep claiming they believe in segregation and white supremacy to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimu

Jo: It’s not different—how can you say that? White men ain’t got no more business fooling around with black women than—

Lyle: Girl, will you stop getting yourself into an uproar? Men is different from women—they ain’t as delicate.

Related Characters: Jo Britten (speaker), Lyle Britten (speaker), Parnell James

Page Number and Citation: 59–60

Explanation and Analysis:

Jo and Lyle have been bantering with Parnell about Parnell’s early education in Switzerland, where Parnell was co-educated with upper-class African students who dated American and European white girls. When Lyle claims that he’d never let his daughter go to Switzerland but letting his son go and date African girls would be different, Jo angrily insists that it’s not “different”—but Lyle, talking over her, insists men and women are “different” because men are less “delicate.” The different reactions of Jo and Lyle to interracial romantic relationships illustrate two different forms of racism. Jo’s form of racism is purely segregationist: she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro

Parnell: Nobody in the world knew about her inside, what she was like, and how she dreamed, but me. And nobody in the world knew about me inside, what I wanted, and how I dreamed, but her.

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker), Jo Britten

Page Number and Citation: 64

Explanation and Analysis:

When Jo Britten—anxious about rumors she has heard about her husband Lyle’s previous sexual relationships with Black women—asks Lyle’s friend Parnell whether Parnell has ever loved a Black woman, Parnell tells Jo about his high-school girlfriend Pearl, whom he believes he loved. When describing their relationship, he talks about it in terms of him and Pearl really knowing each other as individuals: he was the only one who “knew about her inside” and she was the only one who “knew about [him] inside.” This focus on Pearl and Parnell’s insides is clearly intended to exclude questions of skin color: knowing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Duc

Richard: Maybe your wife could run home and get some change. You got some change at home, I know. Don’t you?

Lyle: I don’t stand for nobody to talk about my wife.

Related Characters: Lyle Britten (speaker), Richard Henry (speaker), Jo Britten, Juanita Harmon

Page Number and Citation: 73

Explanation and Analysis:

In a flashback, Richard has entered Lyle’s store with the apparent intention of starting a fight with him—presumably to pay back Lyle for Lyle’s earlier rudeness to Richard’s friend and love interest Juanita. Richard’s main tactic for humiliating Lyle—and secondarily Lyle’s wife Jo—is to ask whether Jo can make change for $20 when Richard tries to buy two Cokes (which cost mere cents in 1964 when the play was first produced). When Jo is unable to make change for $20, Richard sarcastically claims that he “know[s]” the Brittens must have “some change at home”—and then asks, rhetorically, “Don’t you?” The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas.

Juanita: I used to watch you roaring through this town like a St. George thirsty for dragons. And I wanted to let you know you haven’t got to do all that; dragons aren’t hard to find, they’re everywhere. And nobody wants you to be St. George. We just want you to be Parnell.

Related Characters: Juanita Harmon (speaker), Parnell James, Richard Henry

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis:

At Richard’s funeral, Parnell is talking to Juanita when he realizes aloud—for the first time—that Juanita loved Richard. When Juanita asks how Parnell manages to be ignorant of so many things, he asks why she’s being harsh, and she eventually explains that he acts, unnecessarily, “like a St. George thirsty for dragons.” In the legend of St. George and the dragon, St. George (the patron saint of England) slays a dragon that has been besieging a city and eating its inhabitants. Through the comparison to St. George, Juanita is suggesting that Parnell has a hero complex—or perhaps more specifically a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut.

Lorenzo: They been asking me about photographs they say he was carrying and they been asking me about a gun I never saw. No. It wasn’t like that. He was a beautiful cat, and they killed him.

Related Characters: Lorenzo Shannon (speaker), Lyle Britten, Richard Henry, The State, Counsel for the Bereaved

Related Symbols: Guns, Photos

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

At Lyle Britten’s trial for the murder of Richard Henry, the defense attorney (The State) repeatedly asks witnesses about whether Richard had a gun and whether he ever showed them pornographic photos of white women. When Richard’s friend Lorenzo testifies, he flatly declares, “It wasn’t like that.” This declaration could be interpreted in two ways. Lorenzo could be declaring that Richard didn’t have a gun or pornographic photos of white women. In that case, Lorenzo would either be partially lying or ignorant of the truth: Richard did in fact own a gun, and he did have snapshots of white girlfriends, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earu

Juanita: I am not responsible for your imagination.

Related Characters: Juanita Harmon (speaker), Lyle Britten, The State, Richard Henry, Meridian Henry, Pete Spivey, Jo Britten

Page Number and Citation: 97

Explanation and Analysis:

Lyle Britten’s defense attorney, called The State, has been questioning Juanita about whether she had romantic relationships with Richard Henry, Meridian Henry, or Pete Spivey—and concludes by insinuating that Juanita is an unreliable witness because she is sexually promiscuous. Juanita simply replies, “I am not responsible for your imagination.” This reply is an important thematic statement for the play. Throughout the play, white characters have projected their own sexual anxieties and fantasies onto Black characters in a racist manner. For example, they have claimed that Black men are sexually predatory and that Black women are sexually promiscuous and generally “available.” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debiti

Meridian: I don’t think that the alleged object was my son’s type at all!

The State: And you are a minister?

Meridian: I think I may be beginning to become one.

Related Characters: Meridian Henry (speaker), The State (speaker), Lyle Britten, Richard Henry

Related Symbols: Photos

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

At Lyle’s trial for Richard’s murder, Lyle’s defense attorney, called The State, attempts to get Lyle acquitted by prejudicing the jury against Richard in various ways—essentially putting Richard’s character on trial. While questioning Meridian, the State asks Meridian whether Richard ever showed him pornographic photos of white women—a clear attempt to activate racist stereotypes about predatory Black men interested in white women—and then accuses Richard of having attempted to rape Lyle’s wife Jo. Meridian, aware that the accusation is a ridiculous lie, mockingly replies: “I don’t think the alleged object [i.e. Jo] was my son’s type at all!” By ridiculing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetu

Lyle: You ain’t no better than me!

Parnell: I am aware of that. God knows I have been made aware of that—for the first time in my life.

Related Characters: Parnell James (speaker), Lyle Britten (speaker), Juanita Harmon, Jo Britten, Meridian Henry, Richard Henry

Page Number and Citation: 117

Explanation and Analysis:

After Lyle is acquitted for the murder of Richard, Meridian still demands to know whether Lyle murdered Richard—and Parnell backs Meridian up. Lyle expresses outrage that Parnell seemed to doubt Jo’s story about Richard sexually assaulting her and tells Parnell, “You ain’t no better than me!” Parnell replies that he has “been made aware of that—for the first time.” This exchange helps to characterize how Lyle and Parnell’s characters have developed—or failed to develop—over the course of the play. When Lyle cries out that Parnell isn’t better than he is, he seems to mean that even though Parnell is richer, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspicia

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Blues for Mister Charlie Quotes

Act 1 Quotes

Act 2 Quotes

Act 3 Quotes