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Irvin
Sylvester is Ma’s nephew. Ma brings him to the recording session and announces that he will be performing a spoken-word intro for the song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The band is skeptical about Sylvester’s ability to correctly deliver the introduction, though, since he has a noticeable stutter. In particular, Levee is infuriated by Ma’s decision, since it means the band won’t be playing his arrangement of the song. After several takes, Sylvester manages to successfully perform the intro, but Levee remains upset about having to record the song in Ma’s traditional, old-fashioned style.
Sylvester Quotes in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom quotes below are all either spoken by Sylvester or refer to Sylvester. 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 2
Quotes
MA RAINEY: They don’t care nothing about me. All they want is my voice. Well, I done learned that, and they gonna treat me like I want to be treated no matter how much it hurt them. They back there now calling me all kinds of names…calling me everything but a child of god. But they can’t do nothing else. They ain’t got what they wanted yet. As soon as they get my voice down on them recording machines, then it’s just like if I’d be some whore and they roll over and put their pants on. Ain’t got no use for me then.
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STURDYVANT: Hey, Ma…come on, sign the forms, huh?
IRVIN: Ma...come on now.
MA RAINEY: Get your coat, Sylvester. Irvin, where’s my car?
IRVIN: It’s right out front, Ma. Here...I got the keys right here. Come on, sign the forms, huh?
MA RAINEY: Irvin, give me my car keys!
IRVIN: Sure, Ma...just sign the forms, huh? (He gives her the keys, expecting a trade-off.)
MA RAINEY: Send them to my address and I’ll get around to them.
IRVIN: Come on, Ma...I took care of everything, right? I straightened everything out.
MA RAINEY: Give me the pen, Irvin.
(She signs the forms.)
You tell Sturdyvant…one more mistake like that and I can make my records someplace else.
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Get the entire Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom LitChart as a printable PDF.
Sylvester Quotes in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom quotes below are all either spoken by Sylvester or refer to Sylvester. 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 2
Quotes
MA RAINEY: They don’t care nothing about me. All they want is my voice. Well, I done learned that, and they gonna treat me like I want to be treated no matter how much it hurt them. They back there now calling me all kinds of names…calling me everything but a child of god. But they can’t do nothing else. They ain’t got what they wanted yet. As soon as they get my voice down on them recording machines, then it’s just like if I’d be some whore and they roll over and put their pants on. Ain’t got no use for me then.
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Explanation and Analysis:
STURDYVANT: Hey, Ma…come on, sign the forms, huh?
IRVIN: Ma...come on now.
MA RAINEY: Get your coat, Sylvester. Irvin, where’s my car?
IRVIN: It’s right out front, Ma. Here...I got the keys right here. Come on, sign the forms, huh?
MA RAINEY: Irvin, give me my car keys!
IRVIN: Sure, Ma...just sign the forms, huh? (He gives her the keys, expecting a trade-off.)
MA RAINEY: Send them to my address and I’ll get around to them.
IRVIN: Come on, Ma...I took care of everything, right? I straightened everything out.
MA RAINEY: Give me the pen, Irvin.
(She signs the forms.)
You tell Sturdyvant…one more mistake like that and I can make my records someplace else.
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Explanation and Analysis:
