“you got two feet, Sethe, not four." he said, and right then a forest sprang up between them; tactless and quiet.”

“Today is always here,' said Sethe. 'Tomorrow, never.”

“If a Negro got legs he ought to use them. Sit down too long, somebody will figure out a way to tie them up.”

“You your best thing, Sethe. You are.”

“You your own best thing, Sethe. You are.”

“He leans over and takes her hand. With the other he touches her face. ‘You your best thing, Sethe. You are.’ His holding fingers are holding hers.‘Me? Me?”

“This here Sethe talked about love like any other woman; talked about baby clothes like any other woman, but what she meant could cleave the bone. This here Sethe talked about safety with a handsaw. This here new Sethe didn't know where the world stopped and she began. Suddenly he saw what Stamp Paid wanted him to see: more important than what Sethe had done was what she claimed. It scared him.”