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Lady Seymour
Curzon is an enslaved boy who’s about Isabel’s age; Master Bellingham owns him. He soon becomes Isabel’s only real friend in New York, and she can always recognize him in the crowd by his “ridiculous” red hat and gold hoop in his ear. Curzon is bright, idealistic, and is fully committed to the Americans’ fight for freedom—he believes that when the Patriots talk about freeing everyone, they truly mean everyone, enslaved people included. Because of this, Curzon encourages Isabel to spy on the Locktons (who are Loyalists) for the Patriots’ cause—and in exchange for her intelligence, he promises to talk to Bellingham about freeing Isabel and Ruth. But Isabel eventually finds out that neither Bellingham nor other Patriot officers are willing to help her, and she refuses to speak to Curzon after this. During this time, Isabel learns that Curzon has joined the American army in Bellingham’s place. Curzon believes Bellingham’s promise to free him if Curzon signs up for the military in his place—but other enslaved people insist that Curzon is more likely to die as a soldier. Ultimately, Curzon is shot through the leg and then imprisoned with thousands of other Patriot prisoners at the Bridewell Prison. There, survival is a struggle due to his white fellow prisoners’ racism—they don’t believe Curzon, as a Black enslaved person, deserves food, medical care, or blankets. Isabel strikes a deal with one of Curzon’s cellmates to make sure Curzon survives. Because Curzon saved Isabel from dying in the stocks when she was imprisoned for trying to run away, Isabel smuggles Curzon out of the prison early in January and runs away with him, freeing them both.
Curzon Quotes in Chains
The Chains quotes below are all either spoken by Curzon or refer to Curzon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
“You feel beholden to Lockton?”
“Pardon?”
“He’s going to feed you and your sister, give you a place to sleep. He can order you sold, beat, or hung, if the mood takes him. That could make a person feel a kind of loyalty.”
I stopped, considering this. “Someday I’ll find that lawyer and Miss Mary’s will and that’ll free us. Until then, we need to eat, work, and stay together. So yes, I guess I’m loyal to Lockton.”
The words tasted bitter. Being loyal to the one who owned me gave me prickly thoughts, like burrs trapped in my shift, pressing into my skin with every step.
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“They won’t say anything in front of me.”
“You are a small black girl, Country,” he said bitterly. “You are a slave, not a person. They’ll say things in front of you they won’t say in front of the white servants. ’Cause you don’t count to them. It happens all the time to me.”
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Chapter 25
Quotes
“Listen,” he started. “Our freedom—”
I did not let him continue. “You are blind. They don’t want us free. They just want liberty for themselves.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Oh, no. I understand right good,” I countered. “I shouldn’t have believed your rebel lies. I should have taken Ruth and run the night we landed. Even if we drowned, we would have been together.”
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Chapter 36
Quotes
“Please, ma’am,” I tried again. “How did you know?”
Her gaze returned to the logs in the hearth. “Take care how you go, Isabel. Many people think it is a fine and Christian thing to help the prisoners. I do not think my niece is one of them.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered.
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Get the entire Chains LitChart as a printable PDF.
Curzon Quotes in Chains
The Chains quotes below are all either spoken by Curzon or refer to Curzon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
“You feel beholden to Lockton?”
“Pardon?”
“He’s going to feed you and your sister, give you a place to sleep. He can order you sold, beat, or hung, if the mood takes him. That could make a person feel a kind of loyalty.”
I stopped, considering this. “Someday I’ll find that lawyer and Miss Mary’s will and that’ll free us. Until then, we need to eat, work, and stay together. So yes, I guess I’m loyal to Lockton.”
The words tasted bitter. Being loyal to the one who owned me gave me prickly thoughts, like burrs trapped in my shift, pressing into my skin with every step.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“They won’t say anything in front of me.”
“You are a small black girl, Country,” he said bitterly. “You are a slave, not a person. They’ll say things in front of you they won’t say in front of the white servants. ’Cause you don’t count to them. It happens all the time to me.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25
Quotes
“Listen,” he started. “Our freedom—”
I did not let him continue. “You are blind. They don’t want us free. They just want liberty for themselves.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Oh, no. I understand right good,” I countered. “I shouldn’t have believed your rebel lies. I should have taken Ruth and run the night we landed. Even if we drowned, we would have been together.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 36
Quotes
“Please, ma’am,” I tried again. “How did you know?”
Her gaze returned to the logs in the hearth. “Take care how you go, Isabel. Many people think it is a fine and Christian thing to help the prisoners. I do not think my niece is one of them.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
