A Brief History of Seven Killings

A Brief History of Seven Killings

by

Marlon James

Coolie is a pejorative term for people from Asia. There is a significant Asian population in Jamaica due to the legacy of the British empire, which helped transport laborers from Asia to the Caribbean after the abolition of the slave trade.

Coolie Quotes in A Brief History of Seven Killings

The A Brief History of Seven Killings quotes below are all either spoken by Coolie or refer to Coolie. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Violence vs. Peace Theme Icon
).
Part 4, Chapter 3 Quotes

Even my Rasta brethren laugh 'bout it, saying when the Black Star Liner finally come to take us to Africa, they going have to chop me in half. Man, what you know about the Jamaica runnings? Sometimes I think being a half coolie worse than being a battyman. This brown skin girl look 'pon me one time and say how it sad that after all God go through to give me pretty hair him curse me with that skin. The bitch say to me all my dark skin do is remind her that me forefather was a slave. So me say me have pity for you too. Because all your light skin do is remind me that your great-great-grandmother get rape.

Related Characters: Tristan Phillips (speaker), Alex Pierce
Page Number: 453
Explanation and Analysis:
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Coolie Term Timeline in A Brief History of Seven Killings

The timeline below shows where the term Coolie appears in A Brief History of Seven Killings. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 4, Chapter 3
Jamaican Culture and Identity Theme Icon
Politics, Power, and Corruption Theme Icon
Witness and Storytelling Theme Icon
...in 1949. His parents abandoned him and left him with the difficulty of looking “half coolie.” (full context)