How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
I had now been with him every moment of the day and night for two months, but I had not seen him. I remember that ugly welted face. But now, in my memory, it did not seem ugly at all. It seemed only kind and strong.
I asked, "Timothy, are you still black?"
His laughter filled the hut. (13.52-54)
Phillip's blindness allows him to cast aside his preconceived notions and get to know Timothy in a different way. Why doesn't Phillip think of Timothy as black or white?
Quote #11
The pilot had flown away, perhaps thinking I was just another native fisherman waving at an aircraft. I knew that the color of my skin was very dark now. (18.51)
While he's definitely had a change of heart about race, Phillip has also become darker himself. How is this moment symbolic?
Quote #12
I saw Henrik van Boven occasionally, but it wasn't the same as when we'd played the Dutch or the British. He seemed very young. So I spent a lot of time along St. Anna Bay, and at the Ruyterkade market talking to the black people. I liked the sound of their voices. Some of them had known old Timothy from Charlotte Amalie. I felt close to them. (19.40)
Phillip realizes it's not race that binds you to someone – it's shared experiences and values. Why does he no longer connect with Henrik van Boven? What does he have in common with the West Indian people in St. Anna Bay?