How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"When near the buildings I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear." (1.42)
We were with all this right up until the green-lined parasol. (Seriously? A parasol?) The accountant's fancy clothes let him show off his position of power: no need to get his hand dirty pushing numbers around on an Excel spreadsheet, after all. You can wear your very best clothes for that.
Quote #5
"Strings of dusty n*****s with splay feet arrived and departed; a stream of manufactured goods, rubbishy cottons, beads, and brass-wire set into the depths of darkness, and in return came a precious trickle of ivory." (1.44)
Everyone cares only for the ivory; almost anything will be given up in exchange for it—manufactured goods like cotton, beads, brass-wire, and even human slaves.
Quote #6
"When annoyed at meal-times by the constant quarrels of the white men about precedence, he ordered an immense round table to be made, for which a special house had to be built. This was the station's mess-room. Where he sat was the first place—the rest were nowhere. One felt this to be his unalterable conviction." (1.52)
Hm. See, we thought the point of a round table was to make everyone equal—but instead, it just ends up making the manager seem more powerful. Wherever he sits, that's the head of the table. This power play keeps the manager on top and his underlings decidedly beneath him. Smooth move!