James

James

by

Percival Everett

The Duke Character Analysis

The Duke is a young conman who claims he is the rightful Duke of Bridgewater. He joins Huck, Jim, and the King on their journey after he is run out of town for selling a defective toothpaste. Conniving and violent, the Duke beats Jim and assaults Easter. He views Black people as less than human.

The Duke Quotes in James

The James quotes below are all either spoken by The Duke or refer to The Duke. 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:
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 18 Quotes

I could believe it, I thought, pretending, in slave fashion, not to be there. After being cruel, the most notable white attribute was gullibility. As evidenced by Huck’s reaction. He said, “You fellers are amazin’.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The Duke, The King
Page Number: 106
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 21 Quotes

“Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?”

“Folks be funny lak dat. Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ‘em.”

[…]

“I reckon I do that, too,” the boy said.

“What say?”

“I kin see how much you miss yer family and yet I don’t think about it. I forget that you feel things jest like I feel. I know you love them.”

“Thank you, Huck.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The Duke, The King
Page Number: 126-127
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

The Duke swung his belt and caught me at my knees. It did hurt. He laughed and did it again. I didn’t wince.

“You see that?” the King said. “I say, did you see that? They don’t even feel like no human man.”

[…]

“Don’t tear him up too much,” the King said. “We gotta be able to sell him. We cain’t get a dime fer him if’n he’s torn all asunder.”

“Hell, man,” the Duke said. “He ain’t no proper people. He don’t feel pain like we do. He need a lesson he kin remember. Nextwise, he’ll get it into his head to run again. That’s the way these creatures is built.”

Related Characters: The Duke (speaker), The King (speaker), James (Jim), Huck
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
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James PDF

The Duke Quotes in James

The James quotes below are all either spoken by The Duke or refer to The Duke. 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:
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 18 Quotes

I could believe it, I thought, pretending, in slave fashion, not to be there. After being cruel, the most notable white attribute was gullibility. As evidenced by Huck’s reaction. He said, “You fellers are amazin’.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The Duke, The King
Page Number: 106
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 21 Quotes

“Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces? They had to know them was lies, but they wanted to believe. What do you make of that?”

“Folks be funny lak dat. Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ‘em.”

[…]

“I reckon I do that, too,” the boy said.

“What say?”

“I kin see how much you miss yer family and yet I don’t think about it. I forget that you feel things jest like I feel. I know you love them.”

“Thank you, Huck.”

Related Characters: James (Jim) (speaker), Huck (speaker), The Duke, The King
Page Number: 126-127
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

The Duke swung his belt and caught me at my knees. It did hurt. He laughed and did it again. I didn’t wince.

“You see that?” the King said. “I say, did you see that? They don’t even feel like no human man.”

[…]

“Don’t tear him up too much,” the King said. “We gotta be able to sell him. We cain’t get a dime fer him if’n he’s torn all asunder.”

“Hell, man,” the Duke said. “He ain’t no proper people. He don’t feel pain like we do. He need a lesson he kin remember. Nextwise, he’ll get it into his head to run again. That’s the way these creatures is built.”

Related Characters: The Duke (speaker), The King (speaker), James (Jim), Huck
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis: