The Underground Railroad

by

Colson Whitehead

John Valentine Character Analysis

John is the owner of Valentine farm and the husband of Gloria. He is light-skinned and passes for white, although he does not hide the fact that he is black among other black people. After escaping the south with his family, John dedicates his life to helping other black people, telling Cora: “White man ain’t going to do it. We have to do it ourselves.” After his farm is destroyed, John and his family resettle in Oklahoma.

John Valentine Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by John Valentine or refer to John Valentine. 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:
Family, Heritage, and Home Theme Icon
).
Chapter 10: Indiana Quotes

Cora had come to cherish the impossible treasures of the Valentine farm so completely that she'd forgotten how impossible they were. The farm and the adjacent ones operated by colored interests were too big, too prosperous. A pocket of blackness in the young state. Valentine's negro heritage became known years before. Some felt tricked that they'd treated a nigger as an equal and then to have that uppity nigger shame them with his success.

Related Characters: Cora (aka Bessie), John Valentine
Page Number: 276
Explanation and Analysis:
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John Valentine Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by John Valentine or refer to John Valentine. 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:
Family, Heritage, and Home Theme Icon
).
Chapter 10: Indiana Quotes

Cora had come to cherish the impossible treasures of the Valentine farm so completely that she'd forgotten how impossible they were. The farm and the adjacent ones operated by colored interests were too big, too prosperous. A pocket of blackness in the young state. Valentine's negro heritage became known years before. Some felt tricked that they'd treated a nigger as an equal and then to have that uppity nigger shame them with his success.

Related Characters: Cora (aka Bessie), John Valentine
Page Number: 276
Explanation and Analysis: