“‘I know you grieve by running away. By pretending you were never there.’”
This quotation describes the way in which Meridian views Truman’s attitude towards grief, particularly toward the death of his daughter, Camara. Meridian believes that Truman grieves by running away from the people who connect him to past painful events—namely, Lynne. One thing that Truman has always valued in Meridian is her honesty. In this quote, Meridian doesn’t sugarcoat things: she lets Truman know that he can’t run away from his past. He must face the horrific event that happened to his daughter and do something about it, starting with small things, like getting people to register to vote.
“For many in the South it was a decade reminiscent of earlier times, when oak trees sighed over their burdens in the wind; Spanish moss draggled bloody to the ground; amen corners creaked with grief; and the thrill of being able, once again, to endure unendurable loss produced so profound an ecstasy in mourners that they strutted, without noticing their feet, along the thin backs of benches: their piercing shouts of anguish and joy never interrupted by an inglorious fall.”
This quotation describes the ways in which the past informs the present for blacks living in the South. Although the novel takes place a hundred years after the Civil War, the effects of slavery are still impacting African-American men and women through the constant racism, oppression, and injustice that they face. The oak trees that sigh over their burdens are a reference to the lynching of black men that was common in the South prior to this time, and even continuing throughout the twentieth century. The unendurable loss that slavery engendered is beginning to be healed only by the joy of African Americans and their strength, even in the 1960s.
“So they moved, did the young girls outside her window, in the dream of happy endings: of women who had everything, of men who ran the world. So had she. But these thoughts, which were as random and fleeting as clouds, were simply the outside layer of skin on a very large onion.”
This quotation describes the young girls whom Meridian watches outside her window when she is stuck at home with her child. Having been deceived by the adults in her life who failed to warn her of the possible consequences of sex, Meridian looks upon the girls and their dreams with bitter cynicism. The happy endings that the young girls imagine are as insubstantial as clouds, the outer layer over an inner core of struggles that they will likely face abruptly, while they are still young. Meridian sympathizes with these girls and the world they live in, knowing that men will probably use their bodies as a commodity.
“For a moment, as she looked at Meridian’s mother, there was hatred in her sad eyes. Hatred and comprehension of betrayal.”
This quotation describes Nelda Henderson looking at Meridian’s mother. She feels hatred because Meridian’s mother was one of the adults in her life who could have warned her about the possible consequences of sex; because she did not do so, Nelda was naive and now has two children. Her life is going to be determined by her children because she cannot give them up for adoption as Meridian does, and so Nelda feels betrayed by the women who have allowed her to join the very same path that they have followed—a path that Nelda didn’t want for herself.
“Anne-Marion could not continue to care about a person she could not save. Nor could she end a close friendship without turning on the friend.”
This quotation describes the reasons that Anne-Marion feels she can’t be friends with Meridian anymore and decides to sever ties. She sees Meridian’s illness and her inability to promise that she will kill for the revolution, and she feels that she won’t be able to save Meridian from the hardships of her life. Knowing that she won’t be able to care for Meridian forever, Anne-Marion decides to use harsh words to end the friendship quickly. However, she never tells Meridian her reasoning, and the two continue to care for each other, sending letters and photographs even though the contents of the letters are cruel.
“It would have been joy for him to forget her, as it would have been joy never to have been his former self. But running away from Lynne, at every opportunity, and existing a few days in Meridian’s presence, was the best that he could do.”
This quotation describes Truman’s complicated relationship with Meridian. He wants to forget that he ever felt in love with Meridian or wanted her in any way, in order to stay with Lynne and be content in his marriage. In fact, he wishes that he was never his former self at all. However, Truman can’t fight the past or run away from it, and he can’t change his strong feelings towards Meridian. The end result is that he can’t stay away from her: he seeks her out as she moves from town to town, and he leaves his wife to spend days with her.
“So Lynne was guilty on at least two counts; on being with them, and of being, period. At least that was how Tommy Odds saw it. And who was he to argue, guilty as he was of loving the white bitch who caused his friend to lose his arm?”
This quotation describes Truman’s guilt over having a white wife, especially when her presence around his friend, Tommy Odds, puts Tommy’s life in danger and results in a devastating injury. Tommy’s injury marks a turning point in Truman’s feelings toward his wife, making him convinced that Lynne is indeed guilty because of her race and her presence. This decision puts a strain on their marriage, ultimately leading to their breakup as Truman begins to feel a lessening of his desire for Lynne.
“Truman she had magnanimously sent back to Meridian, at his insistence.”
This quotation describes Truman and Lynne’s breakup after Lynne gives birth to Camara. Their marriage has already fallen apart; Camara’s birth draws them together, but it cannot return their relationship to the way it was in the beginning. Lynne, like Truman, deals with her problems by trying to start over. The two move to New York but live in different apartments. This quote also marks Lynne’s acceptance of her husband’s relationship with Meridian.
“They knew her suffering did not make her unique; but knowing that crimes of passion or hatred against children are not considered unique in a society where children are not particularly valued, failed to comfort them.”
Camara’s death is not described in great detail, but this quotation explains Truman, Lynne, and Meridian’s reaction to the senseless killing of the small child. From their work in the movement as well as daily life, they understand that such brutal hate crimes are actually not uncommon. However, the knowledge that they are not alone doesn’t do anything to lessen their grief. Together, they still feel the acute pain of having lost Camara to a harsh and cruel world.
“On those occasions such was her rage that she actually felt as if the rich and racist of the world should stand in fear of her, because she—though apparently weak and penniless, a little crazy and without power—was yet of a resolute and relatively fearless character, which, sufficient in its calm acceptance of its own purpose, could bring the mightiest country to its knees.”
This quotation aptly summarizes Meridian’s deep inner strength, which has been on display throughout the novel. Meridian is keenly aware of injustice and is moved to activism when she is still a young mother in her hometown. The initial act that inspires her to join the civil rights movement is the bombing of a house, resulting in the death of innocent black children. The unfairness and stark cruelty of this act moved Meridian to get involved—just as the manifestations of injustice, such as illiteracy and poor medical services, spur Meridian to action later in her life.
