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Besa
Dr. Hoskins is the local doctor, though he lives several hours away from the Derby plantation. Mr. Derby sends for the doctor when Mrs. Derby goes into labor, but Dr. Hoskins doesn’t arrive in time to attend the birth. When the truth comes out about the paternity of Mrs. Derby’s baby, Dr. Hoskins is disturbed by the fact that Mr. Derby murders both Noah and the infant—though as a white man, he feels as though he must keep silent about his feelings in front of Mr. Derby. However, this does give him the opportunity later—when Mr. Derby entrusts him with selling Amari, Polly, and Tidbit on his behalf—to free his charges and give them a chance at finding freedom. He insists that he doesn’t believe in slavery, but aside from one-off acts of resistance like freeing Amari, Polly, and Tidbit, Dr. Hoskins doesn’t feel like he can do anything to stop or change the cruel and dehumanizing nature of slavery on a grander scale.
Dr. Hoskins Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Hoskins or refer to Dr. Hoskins. 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 31
Quotes
He took a deep breath, then said quietly, “I am ashamed to be a human being this morning. I witnessed not just murder last night, but violence and cruelty and vicious hatred. By saying nothing, I feel I am as responsible as my so-called friend who pulled the trigger.”
Amari and Polly exchanged stunned looks.
Dr. Hoskins continued. “I am just one man. I don’t know how to fight everything that is happening around me. I don’t understand how one man can own another. And I don’t know how to stop it.” He looked around at the deep woods and the darkness within them. “But I can help the three of you.”
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Dr. Hoskins Quotes in Copper Sun
The Copper Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Hoskins or refer to Dr. Hoskins. 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 31
Quotes
He took a deep breath, then said quietly, “I am ashamed to be a human being this morning. I witnessed not just murder last night, but violence and cruelty and vicious hatred. By saying nothing, I feel I am as responsible as my so-called friend who pulled the trigger.”
Amari and Polly exchanged stunned looks.
Dr. Hoskins continued. “I am just one man. I don’t know how to fight everything that is happening around me. I don’t understand how one man can own another. And I don’t know how to stop it.” He looked around at the deep woods and the darkness within them. “But I can help the three of you.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
