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Wisdom Poole
Ruby Morgan, later Ruby Smith, is the sister of Steward and Deek Morgan and the mother of K.D. She dies in childbirth because segregated hospitals refuse to help her, and Deek and Steward’s regret that they could not protect their sister from institutionalized racism embodies the theme of Black men seeking to protect Black women that runs throughout the novel. The town of Ruby is named after her.
Ruby Morgan Quotes in Paradise
The Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Ruby Morgan or refer to Ruby Morgan. 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:
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Ruby Quotes
Bodacious black Eves unredeemed by Mary, they are like panicked does leaping toward a sun that has finished burning off the mist and now pours its holy oil over the hides of game.
God at their side, the men take aim. For Ruby.
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Ruby Morgan Character Timeline in Paradise
The timeline below shows where the character Ruby Morgan appears in Paradise. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Ruby
...but when this woman died, all the community’s women decided the town would be called Ruby in her honor. Ruby’s son became a fixture in the town, so his uncles include...
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Seneca
...the meeting about the Oven, Deek drives to the bank, taking in the prosperity of Ruby, which in his mind justifies moving the Oven from Haven. He worries about Soane, and...
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Patricia
Along the journey to Ruby, the founding families encountered an orphan baby. The DuPreses took her in and named her...
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...after the wedding that people call Pat “Miss Best” instead of “Mrs. Cato.” Delia and Ruby Morgan are the only two people who ever died within Ruby’s town limits, which lets...
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Save-Marie
...Jeff and Sweetie Fleetwood’s youngest child, Save-Marie. She is the first person to die in Ruby, and Sweetie refused the Morgans’ offer to bury her in the makeshift cemetery they established...
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