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Quey is the son of James Collins and Effia. As a biracial man, Quey doesn’t feel like he fits in with any culture. He is constantly afraid of appearing weak and disappointing his father, and so he reluctantly takes up his father’s business of slave trading. In addition, even though it is implied that he is attracted to men (particularly his childhood friend Cudjo), he marries a girl named Nana Yaa in order to make his father and his uncle Fiifi proud. He comes to expect the same prioritization of family above personal fulfillment from his own son, James, who is not as eager to please his father as Quey was. James goes against Quey’s wishes by rejecting the slave trade altogether and living with a poor Asante girl named Akosua.
Quey Quotes in Homegoing
The Homegoing quotes below are all either spoken by Quey or refer to Quey. 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:
).
Part 1: Quey
Quotes
Quey had wanted to cry but that desire embarrassed him. He knew that he was one of the half-caste children of the Castle, and, like the other half-caste children, he could not fully claim either half of himself, neither his father's whiteness nor his mother’s blackness. Neither England nor the Gold Coast.
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This was how they lived there, in the bush: Eat or be eaten. Capture or be captured. Marry for protection. Quey would never go to Cudjo's village. He would not be weak. He was in the business of slavery, and sacrifices had to be made.
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Part 1: James
Quotes
“There's more at stake here than just slavery, my brother. It's a question of who will own the land, the people, the power. You cannot stick a knife in a goat and then say, Now I will remove my knife slowly, so let things be easy and clean, let there be no mess. There will always be blood.”
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“That was my father and grandfather's work. It is not mine.” He didn’t add that because of their work, he didn’t have to work, but instead could live off the family name and power.
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Quey Quotes in Homegoing
The Homegoing quotes below are all either spoken by Quey or refer to Quey. 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:
).
Part 1: Quey
Quotes
Quey had wanted to cry but that desire embarrassed him. He knew that he was one of the half-caste children of the Castle, and, like the other half-caste children, he could not fully claim either half of himself, neither his father's whiteness nor his mother’s blackness. Neither England nor the Gold Coast.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This was how they lived there, in the bush: Eat or be eaten. Capture or be captured. Marry for protection. Quey would never go to Cudjo's village. He would not be weak. He was in the business of slavery, and sacrifices had to be made.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: James
Quotes
“There's more at stake here than just slavery, my brother. It's a question of who will own the land, the people, the power. You cannot stick a knife in a goat and then say, Now I will remove my knife slowly, so let things be easy and clean, let there be no mess. There will always be blood.”
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“That was my father and grandfather's work. It is not mine.” He didn’t add that because of their work, he didn’t have to work, but instead could live off the family name and power.
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Page Number and Citation:
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