Washington Black

Washington Black

by

Esi Edugyan

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Washington Black makes teaching easy.
Mr. Goff is Tanna’s father and a famous marine zoologist whom Wash meets in Nova Scotia. Goff is old, slightly curmudgeonly British man. Seeing Wash’s romantic interest in Tanna, he treats Wash with some disdain. But as he gets to know Wash, and Wash proves his scientific acumen, Goff warms to him. He reveals to Wash that he is only wary of Wash being with his daughter because he doesn’t want society to ostracize the two of them. Later, Wash comes up with the idea for a public aquarium; Goff pitches the idea to the London Zoology Committee and they approve it, but Wash will not be credited for the work he does on it, which frustrates Wash.

Mr. Goff Quotes in Washington Black

The Washington Black quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Goff or refer to Mr. Goff. 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:
Freedom vs. Captivity Theme Icon
).
Part 3, Chapter 6 Quotes

“It was I who had failed in my understanding, you see. Life holds a sanctity for them we can scarcely begin to imagine; it therefore struck them as absurd that someone would choose to end it. A great ludicrous act. In any case, it was then I recognized that my own values—the tenets I hold dear as an Englishman—they are not the only, nor the best, values in existence. I understood there were many ways of being in the world, that to privilege one rigid set of beliefs over another was to lose something. Everything is bizarre, and everything has value. Or if not value, at least merits investigation.”

I thought it wonderful for a man of science to speak so. Staring at his bright chewing face, I realized how profoundly I liked him.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Mr. Goff (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3, Chapter 7 Quotes

The octopus arranged itself in a smatter of algae, its body hanging blackly before me. When I came forward to touch it, it sent out a surge of dark ink. We paused, watching each other, the grey rag of ink hanging between us. Then it shot off through the water, stopping short to radiate like a cloth set afire, its arms unfurling and vibrating. There was something playful in the pause, as if it expected me to ink it back. I held my hands out towards it, gently; the creature hovered in the dark waters, almost totally still. Then, shyly, it began to pulse towards me, stopping just inches away, its small, gelatinous eyes taking me in. Then it swam directly into my hands.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Related Symbols: The Octopus
Page Number: 251
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4, Chapter 11 Quotes

How could he have treated me so, he who congratulated himself on his belief that I was his equal? I had never been his equal. To him, perhaps, any deep acceptance of equality was impossible. He saw only those who were there to be saved, and those who did the saving.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Page Number: 294-295
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4, Chapter 12 Quotes

I felt, in those moments of looking around, ferociously proud—of this strange, exquisite place where people could come to view creatures they believed nightmarish, to understand these animals were in fact beautiful and nothing to fear. But a part of me felt also somehow anguished, ravaged, torn at. For I glimpsed, in each and every display, all my elaborate calculations, my late nights of feverish labour. I saw my hand in everything—in the size and material of the tanks, in the choice of animal specimens, even in the arrangement of the aquatic plants. I had sweated and made gut-wrenching mistakes, and in the end my name would be nowhere. Did it matter? I did not know if it mattered. I understood only that I would have to find a way to make peace with the loss, or I would have to leave the whole enterprise behind and everyone connected with it.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Related Symbols: The Octopus
Page Number: 354-355
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Goff Quotes in Washington Black

The Washington Black quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Goff or refer to Mr. Goff. 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:
Freedom vs. Captivity Theme Icon
).
Part 3, Chapter 6 Quotes

“It was I who had failed in my understanding, you see. Life holds a sanctity for them we can scarcely begin to imagine; it therefore struck them as absurd that someone would choose to end it. A great ludicrous act. In any case, it was then I recognized that my own values—the tenets I hold dear as an Englishman—they are not the only, nor the best, values in existence. I understood there were many ways of being in the world, that to privilege one rigid set of beliefs over another was to lose something. Everything is bizarre, and everything has value. Or if not value, at least merits investigation.”

I thought it wonderful for a man of science to speak so. Staring at his bright chewing face, I realized how profoundly I liked him.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Mr. Goff (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3, Chapter 7 Quotes

The octopus arranged itself in a smatter of algae, its body hanging blackly before me. When I came forward to touch it, it sent out a surge of dark ink. We paused, watching each other, the grey rag of ink hanging between us. Then it shot off through the water, stopping short to radiate like a cloth set afire, its arms unfurling and vibrating. There was something playful in the pause, as if it expected me to ink it back. I held my hands out towards it, gently; the creature hovered in the dark waters, almost totally still. Then, shyly, it began to pulse towards me, stopping just inches away, its small, gelatinous eyes taking me in. Then it swam directly into my hands.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Related Symbols: The Octopus
Page Number: 251
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4, Chapter 11 Quotes

How could he have treated me so, he who congratulated himself on his belief that I was his equal? I had never been his equal. To him, perhaps, any deep acceptance of equality was impossible. He saw only those who were there to be saved, and those who did the saving.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Christopher “Titch” Wilde, Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Page Number: 294-295
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4, Chapter 12 Quotes

I felt, in those moments of looking around, ferociously proud—of this strange, exquisite place where people could come to view creatures they believed nightmarish, to understand these animals were in fact beautiful and nothing to fear. But a part of me felt also somehow anguished, ravaged, torn at. For I glimpsed, in each and every display, all my elaborate calculations, my late nights of feverish labour. I saw my hand in everything—in the size and material of the tanks, in the choice of animal specimens, even in the arrangement of the aquatic plants. I had sweated and made gut-wrenching mistakes, and in the end my name would be nowhere. Did it matter? I did not know if it mattered. I understood only that I would have to find a way to make peace with the loss, or I would have to leave the whole enterprise behind and everyone connected with it.

Related Characters: George Washington “Wash” Black (speaker), Tanna Goff, Mr. Goff
Related Symbols: The Octopus
Page Number: 354-355
Explanation and Analysis: