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Pa (Kya’s Father)
Jumpin’ is a kindhearted man who owns a gas dock and bait shop that sits between Kya’s area of the marsh and Barkley Cove. Although Kya is white and Jumpin’ is black—and although they live in a racially segregated community—they become quite close, since Jumpin’ does what he can to help Kya survive when her entire family abandons her. When Kya tries to think of a way to make money, Jumpin’ agrees to buy sacks of mussels from her several times a week, though he warns her that other fishermen also bring him mussels, adding that he can only buy so many. Because of this, Kya catches fish and smokes them, hoping that Jumpin’ will sell those instead. And though these fish look disgusting, Jumpin’ agrees to take them, later bringing them to his wife, Mabel, who also feels sorry for Kya. Wanting to help her, Mabel and Jumpin’ decide to tell Kya that they know somebody who wanted to trade the fish for clothing and other supplies. In reality, though, Mabel and Jumpin’ collect these supplies from their church without trading the fish. This is the kind of support that they continue to show Kya, even when she’s on trial for Chase’s murder. Jumpin’ dies years after Kya is found not guilty, and Kya feels as if she has lost her true father.
Jumpin’ Quotes in Where the Crawdads Sing
The Where the Crawdads Sing quotes below are all either spoken by Jumpin’ or refer to Jumpin’. 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:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“Lawd, we gotta do something 'bout that child. Ain’t nobody gonna buy them fish; I can cook ’em up in stew. Our church can come up wif some clothes, other things for her. We’ll tell ’er there’s some family that’ll trade jumpers for carpies. What size is she?”
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Chapter 53
Quotes
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I grew up in Barkley Cove, and when I was a younger man I heard the tall tales about the Marsh Girl. Yes, let’s just get this out in the open. We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man. That her eyes glowed in the dark. Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn’t help her. Except for one of her only friends, Jumpin’, not one of our churches or community groups offered her food or clothes. Instead we labeled and rejected her because we thought she was different. But, ladies and gentlemen, did we exclude Miss Clark because she was different, or was she different because we excluded her? If we had taken her in as one of our own—I think that is what she would be today. If we had fed, clothed, and loved her, invited her into our churches and homes, we wouldn’t be prejudiced against her. And I believe she would not be sitting here today accused of a crime.
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Jumpin’ Quotes in Where the Crawdads Sing
The Where the Crawdads Sing quotes below are all either spoken by Jumpin’ or refer to Jumpin’. 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:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“Lawd, we gotta do something 'bout that child. Ain’t nobody gonna buy them fish; I can cook ’em up in stew. Our church can come up wif some clothes, other things for her. We’ll tell ’er there’s some family that’ll trade jumpers for carpies. What size is she?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 53
Quotes
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I grew up in Barkley Cove, and when I was a younger man I heard the tall tales about the Marsh Girl. Yes, let’s just get this out in the open. We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man. That her eyes glowed in the dark. Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn’t help her. Except for one of her only friends, Jumpin’, not one of our churches or community groups offered her food or clothes. Instead we labeled and rejected her because we thought she was different. But, ladies and gentlemen, did we exclude Miss Clark because she was different, or was she different because we excluded her? If we had taken her in as one of our own—I think that is what she would be today. If we had fed, clothed, and loved her, invited her into our churches and homes, we wouldn’t be prejudiced against her. And I believe she would not be sitting here today accused of a crime.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
