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The Protagonist’s Partner
Mary Catherine is a white girl in the protagonist’s class when she’s still in school. The protagonist refers to her as Mary Catherine because she can’t remember if the girl’s name is Mary or Catherine. After Mary Catherine asks the protagonist to let her cheat off her test, she says that the protagonist smells good and that her features are closer to those of a white person than those of a black person. Thinking this over, the protagonist wonders if Mary Catherine says this because she would feel better about cheating from an “almost white person” than from a black person.
Mary Catherine Quotes in Citizen: An American Lyric
The Citizen: An American Lyric quotes below are all either spoken by Mary Catherine or refer to Mary Catherine. 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 1
Quotes
You never really speak except for the time she makes her request and later when she tells you you smell good and have features more like a white person. You assume she thinks she is thanking you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Sister Evelyn never figures out your arrangement perhaps because you never turn around to copy Mary Catherine's answers. Sister Evelyn must think these two girls think a lot alike or she cares less about cheating and more about humiliation or she never actually saw you sitting there.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Mary Catherine Quotes in Citizen: An American Lyric
The Citizen: An American Lyric quotes below are all either spoken by Mary Catherine or refer to Mary Catherine. 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 1
Quotes
You never really speak except for the time she makes her request and later when she tells you you smell good and have features more like a white person. You assume she thinks she is thanking you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Sister Evelyn never figures out your arrangement perhaps because you never turn around to copy Mary Catherine's answers. Sister Evelyn must think these two girls think a lot alike or she cares less about cheating and more about humiliation or she never actually saw you sitting there.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
