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Because the mere idea of Tish’s pregnancy gives her and Fonny the strength to embrace a sense of hope about their difficult situation, their baby itself comes to represent the importance of finding slivers of optimism even in the most trying times. Once Tish decides to quit her job so she can visit Fonny every day, she realizes the profound impact her pregnancy has on his spirit, noting, “And I understand that the growth of the baby is connected with his determination to be free.” Given that by the end of the novel Fonny is struggling to withstand the brutal reality of life in jail, this fueling of his “determination to be free” is quite significant, ultimately helping him survive the psychological hardships of his predicament. As such, the baby becomes a symbol of emotional resilience, suggesting to both Fonny and Tish that “what can get worse can get better.”
The Baby Quotes in If Beale Street Could Talk
The If Beale Street Could Talk quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Baby. 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:
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Troubled About My Soul
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Tish […], when we was first brought here, the white man he didn’t give us no preachers to say words over us before we had our babies. And you and Fonny be together right now, married or not, wasn’t for that same damn white man. So, let me tell you what you got to do. You got to think about that baby. You got to hold on to that baby, don’t care what else happens or don’t happen. You got to do that. Can’t nobody else do that for you. And the rest of us, well, we going to hold on to you. And we going to get Fonny out. Don’t you worry. I know it’s hard —but don’t you worry. And that baby be the best thing that ever happened to Fonny. He needs that baby. It going to give him a whole lot of courage.
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We are certainly in it now, and it may get worse. It will, certainly—and now something almost as hard to catch as a whisper in a crowded place, as light and as definite as a spider’s web, strikes below my ribs, stunning and astonishing my heart—get worse. But that light tap, that kick, that signal, announces to me that what can get worse can get better. Yes. It will get worse. But the baby, turning for the first time in its incredible veil of water, announces its presence and claims me; tells me, in that instant, that what can get worse can get better; and that what can get better can get worse. In the meantime—forever—it is entirely up to me. The baby cannot get here without me.
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I know you worried about the money. But you let me worry about that. I got more experience. Anyway, you ain’t making no damn money. All you doing is wearing yourself out, and driving Fonny crazy. You keep on like you going, you going to lose that baby. You lose that baby, and Fonny won’t want to live no more, and you’ll be lost and then I’ll be lost, everything is lost.
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Zion
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I opened my mouth to say—I don’t know what. When I opened my mouth, I couldn’t catch my breath. Everything disappeared, except my mother’s eyes. An incredible intelligence charged the air between us. Then, all I could see was Fonny. And then I screamed, and my time had come.
Fonny is working on the wood, on the stone, whistling, smiling. And, from far away, but coming nearer, the baby cries and cries and cries and cries and cries and cries and cries and cries, cries like it means to wake the dead.
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The Baby Symbol Timeline in If Beale Street Could Talk
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Baby appears in If Beale Street Could Talk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Troubled About My Soul
...about to deliver, perhaps it will make him happy. “Alonzo, we’re going to have a baby,” she says. Pausing for a moment, she hastens to add, “I’m glad. I’m glad. Don’t...
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Fonny worries aloud about how they’ll raise a baby when he’s still in prison, but Tish assures him that her mother and sister will...
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...in jail. Given this unfortunate situation, she says, Tish needs to simply focus on her baby, making sure that it comes into this world safely.
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Saying that Tish is the only one who can make sure her baby arrives safely, Sharon says that she, Frank, and Ernestine will take care of everything else....
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...ain’t gone crazy. We’re drinking to a new life. Tish is going to have Fonny’s baby.”
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...to find an apartment together so they could get married. “You sure you want this baby, Tish?” he asks, and Tish immediately launches into an explanation of how much Fonny and...
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...that,” he says. The family stops talking for a moment, each person thinking about the baby, and then Ernestine breaks the silence, saying, “Unbow your head, sister.” When Tish looks up,...
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...to hear about Tish’s pregnancy. “And who,” she says, “is going to responsible for this baby?” “The father and the mother,” Tish replies. Having processed this information, Mrs. Hunt rises and...
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...heart. “She got a weak head,” Sharon interjects. “The Holy Ghost done softened your brain, child. Did you forget it was Frank’s grandchild you was cursing?” At this point, Adrienne defends...
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Standing in Mrs. Hunt’s way, Tish finishes her sentence, saying, “That child is in my belly. Now, you raise your knee and kick it out.” As she...
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...word, knowing that “time” is the one thing weighing most on Fonny. After all, their baby will be born in six months, and each day Fonny spends in prison is torture.
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...Tish that he loves her, asking her not to cry because it’s “bad for the baby.”
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...ever suffer again: and that’s worse.” She then reminds Tish to focus on her unborn child, saying that it will bring Fonny hope. “I don’t want to sound foolish,” she says...
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...that she must remain strong, since things will only “get worse” from here, though the child in her womb reminds her that things can also get better.
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Tish recalls the night her baby was conceived. Thinking back, she vividly remembers the day, when she and Fonny finally find...
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Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, the baby becomes restless in Tish’s womb, torturing her from the inside. Still, she refuses to quit...
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...that.” What’s more, he says that if she keeps tiring herself out, she’ll lose the baby. “You lose that baby, and Fonny won’t want to live no more, and you’ll be...
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...takes delight in watching Tish grow bigger and bigger, reveling in the fact that their baby is on its way.
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Zion
...hardens in him,” Tish notes, “something changes forever,” though he focuses on his and Tish’s baby as a way of surviving.
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...in her parents’ apartment feeling “heavy” and “scared.” As she looks out the window, the baby kicks and the phone rings, and when she answers it, she’s surprised to hear Adrienne’s...
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...handles the materials. Then, “from far away, but coming nearer,” comes the sound of his child crying; “the baby cries and cries and cries and cries and cries and cries and...
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