“$1,200, That was the price of a man in those days. Now you can call him black, or you can call him a slave, but he was a man nonetheless.”

“If you can not answer a man's argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.”

“A slave cannot be freed, save he do it himself. Nor can you enslave a free man; the very most you can do is kill him!”

“...'He's black, you see that! I thought he would be all along.' Harelip's voice trembled with excitement. 'He's a real black man, you see!''What are they going to do with him, shoot him?''Shoot him!' Harelip shouted, gasping with surprise. 'Shoot a real live black man!'Because he's the enemy,' I asserted without confidence. 'Enemy! You call him an enemy!' Harelip seized my shirt and railed at me hoarsely, spraying my face with saliva through his lip.'He's a black man, he's no enemy!”

“When a man says money can do anything that settles it: he hasn't got any. When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.”

“Hector? You call him Hector?”“Well, I can hardly call out, ‘Agent Chavez, oo Agent Chavez,’ When he makes me climax, now can I?”