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Rutherford Selig
Garret Brown is a worker at the local mill in the Hill District. When Citizen steals a bucket of nails, Garret is the one who gets blamed. Caesar tries to arrest him, but Garret jumps in the nearby river, which is extremely cold. Instead of coming out of the river and letting Caesar arrest him for a crime he didn’t commit, Garret stays in the water until he drowns—a decision Aunt Ester later says was a way of “dying in truth” instead of living under a sense of undeserved guilt. Citizen is haunted by the entire ordeal, feeling extremely guilty and out of sorts until he comes face to face with Garret Brown in the City of Bones, where he confesses to what he did—an act that seems to cleanse his soul and settle his conscience.
Garret Brown Quotes in Gem of the Ocean
The Gem of the Ocean quotes below are all either spoken by Garret Brown or refer to Garret Brown. 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:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
They had a man down in Kentucky was accused of stealing a horse. He said he didn’t do it. Turned him into an outlaw. Made him the biggest horse thief in Kentucky. He lived to steal horses. He must of stole five hundred horses. And every one he sent back word: I stole that one but I didn’t steal the first one. I stole that one but I didn’t steal the first one. They never did catch him. He died and the horse thieving stopped.
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Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
CITIZEN: He could have come out the river.
AUNT ESTER: That’s the only way he had to say he was innocent. It must have meant an awful lot for him to say that. He was willing to die to say that.
CITIZEN: I was standing there. I seen him. I thought he was gonna come out. I told myself he was gonna come out. […]
AUNT ESTER: Jesus Christ was falsely accused. He died a bitter death on the cross. This man was like Jesus. He say he would rather die innocent than to live guilty.
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Act 1, Scene 5
Quotes
He didn’t care if anybody else knew if he did it or not. He knew. He didn’t do it for the people standing around watching. He did it for himself. He say I’d rather die in truth than to live a lie. That way he can say that his life is worth more than a bucket of nails. What is your life worth, Mr. Citizen? That’s what you got to find out. You got to find a way to live in truth.
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Garret Brown Quotes in Gem of the Ocean
The Gem of the Ocean quotes below are all either spoken by Garret Brown or refer to Garret Brown. 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:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
They had a man down in Kentucky was accused of stealing a horse. He said he didn’t do it. Turned him into an outlaw. Made him the biggest horse thief in Kentucky. He lived to steal horses. He must of stole five hundred horses. And every one he sent back word: I stole that one but I didn’t steal the first one. I stole that one but I didn’t steal the first one. They never did catch him. He died and the horse thieving stopped.
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Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
CITIZEN: He could have come out the river.
AUNT ESTER: That’s the only way he had to say he was innocent. It must have meant an awful lot for him to say that. He was willing to die to say that.
CITIZEN: I was standing there. I seen him. I thought he was gonna come out. I told myself he was gonna come out. […]
AUNT ESTER: Jesus Christ was falsely accused. He died a bitter death on the cross. This man was like Jesus. He say he would rather die innocent than to live guilty.
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Act 1, Scene 5
Quotes
He didn’t care if anybody else knew if he did it or not. He knew. He didn’t do it for the people standing around watching. He did it for himself. He say I’d rather die in truth than to live a lie. That way he can say that his life is worth more than a bucket of nails. What is your life worth, Mr. Citizen? That’s what you got to find out. You got to find a way to live in truth.
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