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Sagitty is one of Thornhill's neighbors on the Hawkesbury River. He's great friends with Smasher and is similarly cruel to the Aborigines that live along the river, which he justifies because the natives steal from him regularly. Smasher tells Thornhill that Sagitty joined him in raping the Aborigine woman that Smasher keeps chained in a hut. Sagitty is also responsible for poisoning the natives with rat poison at Darkey Creek. On the day that Sal gives Thornhill an ultimatum about staying on the river, the natives burn Sagitty's hut and spear him in the stomach. Although Thornhill is able to get him to the hospital at Windsor, Sagitty dies.
Sagitty Quotes in The Secret River
The The Secret River quotes below are all either spoken by Sagitty or refer to Sagitty. 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 6: The Secret River Quotes
He was reminded of what he had not thought of for years, the yard at Newgate, the men rehearsing their stories so often that they took on the substance of fact.
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Sagitty Character Timeline in The Secret River
The timeline below shows where the character Sagitty appears in The Secret River. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 3: A Clearing in the Forest
...company, so one Sunday, several neighbors arrive. Smasher arrives first, followed by a man named Sagitty. Sagitty had once had a wife and children here in New South Wales, but they...
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Sagitty and Smasher exchange knowing looks as they talk about the natives. Thornhill tries to change...
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Smasher notices Blackwood coming up the river. Smasher and Sagitty exchange a hard glance as Blackwood walks up with a keg of his homemade rum....
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...you dig up the daisies, they won't grow back and the natives will go hungry. Sagitty angrily insists that the natives don't farm, but Blackwood speaks over him and says that...
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Part 5: Drawing a Line
...red sores under the chains. Smasher licks his lips and says that both he and Sagitty have had sex with this woman, and Thornhill imagines having sex with her too. Smasher...
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...makes his way to the lit hut, where he finds Sal entertaining Smasher, Mrs. Herring, Sagitty, Loveday, Blackwood, and another neighbor. When Thornhill enters, Sagitty and Smasher tell him about Spider:...
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...and recounts pulling the same kind of trick on shop owners as a child, but Sagitty isn't amused. He says that the natives stole four bags of wheat from him. Smasher...
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...had been invited to have sex with Smasher's chained woman. Mrs. Herring warns Smasher and Sagitty that they're going to pay for what they're doing. Smasher recounts shooting two natives the...
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...Sydney Gazette, which Loveday reads to a group of settlers at Thornhill's one night. Smasher, Sagitty, and Blackwood are there, and Dan and Ned look on. Loveday reads that if the...
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Sagitty suggests poisoning the natives, and Smasher pulls something from his pocket and says he doesn't...
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Part 6: The Secret River
...it away. He decides not to tell anyone, including Sal, and knows that this was Sagitty's doing.
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...talk to Sal, but Dan, breathless, interrupts them and says that the natives are burning Sagitty's place. Sal ignores Thornhill and shouts instructions to the children. She turns and tells Thornhill...
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Thornhill, Dan, and Ned float down towards Saggity's place. They see smoke and a smashed boat, but no signs of life. Slowly, Thornhill...
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...they travel down the river, Thornhill thinks he'll have to tell Sal. He knows that Sagitty's fate will make it very clear to Sal that they do need to leave. He...
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At the town of Windsor, Thornhill, Ned, and Dan get Sagitty to the hospital and then go to Spider's bar. They hear Sagitty's scream when someone...
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...bed now, and he knows that Sal is surely aware of what Thornhill found at Sagitty's. Thornhill wonders how his life has come to this moment where he has so little...
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...Blackwood's place. Thornhill thinks of the black woman at Blackwood's, but tries to think of Sagitty instead. The group stops outside Blackwood's lagoon to sleep for a few hours before dawn.
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Part 6: Mr. Thornhill's Villa
...river itself doesn't change. New men move to Smasher and Spider's places, and Thornhill buys Sagitty's place and 100 acres that includes Darkey Creek. It's called Thornhill's Creek now. The natives...
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