Previous
Lizzie
Young George is an enslaved Black man who Jim meets after he is separated from Huck. He works alongside Josiah, Old George, and Pierre. At Jim’s request, Young George steals a pencil from his enslaver but is discovered and killed for the crime. Jim frequently draws on Young George’s memory when he uses the pencil to write.
Young George Quotes in James
The James quotes below are all either spoken by Young George or refer to Young George. 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:
).
Part 1, Chapter 16 Quotes
My name is James. I wish I could tell my story with a sense of history as much as industry. I was sold when I was born and then sold again. My mother’s mother was from someplace on the continent of Africa, I had been told or perhaps simply assumed. I cannot claim to any knowledge of that world or those people, whether my people were kings or beggars […] I can tell you that I am a man who is cognizant of his world, a man who has a family, who loves a family, who has been torn from his family, a man who can read and write, a man who will not let his story be self-related, but self-written.
With my pencil, I wrote myself into being. I wrote myself to here.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
With the pencil stolen by Young George, Jim begins to write a narrative of his life. While these are not the first words he has written, this is the first time he has rechristened himself “James” on paper, asserting his ability to determine his own identity. Jim regrets his lack of family history—having been born into enslavement, his ancestral roots have been erased, another casualty of his oppression. Here, he seems to compare his own narrative to that of Venture Smith, who remembered his journey from Africa to the United States. Unlike Smith, Jim wishes his narrative to be “self-written” 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 des
Part 1, Chapter 26 Quotes
“White folks watch us work and forget how long we’re left alone in our heads. Working and waiting.”
I smiled. “If only they knew the danger in that.”
“I don’t believe they even know we talk to each other,” Easter said.
“They can’t accept it. They won’t accept it. And they’re always surprised.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this conversation, Wiley leaves Easter and James to their tasks, and Easter instructs Jim on how to make horseshoes. As they work, the older man tells Jim about a slave who was killed for stealing a pencil, and Jim knows he is talking about Young George, who gave him the pencil he still has in his pocket. The two men also talk about white ignorance of the interior lives of Black people, who have ample time to think deeply while laboring at repetitive tasks. Jim remarks that such time for thought is dangerous to their enslavers, as it gives 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 dolor
Get the entire James LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Young George Character Timeline in James
The timeline below shows where the character Young George appears in James. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 14
...times and has always been captured. The other two men call themselves Old George and Young George . Jim does not mention Huck.
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 15
...slavery. He does not read the Bible, understanding it as a tool of the enemy. Young George returns and gives Jim a pencil he has stolen from his master. He implores Jim...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 16
...night, Jim moves through the woods and comes upon a gathering of slaves and overseers. Young George is being whipped for stealing the master’s pencil. He makes eye contact with Jim, hidden...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 18
...stranger to violence, as he lives with the threat of it daily. He thinks of Young George and tries to write with the pencil he stole, but he falls asleep. Jim dreams...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 26
...Jim shows Easter the pencil, and the older man tells him he must write, for Young George ’s sake. Later, Wiley comes to check on Jim’s progress and asks the men to...
(full context)
