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Judge Thatcher
Easter is an enslaved blacksmith. Huck and Jim meet him when they're under the control of the King and the Duke, who convince Easter to shackle Jim while they leave for the night. Sympathetic to Jim's plight, Easter unshackles him when the King and the Duke leave, and they spend the night commiserating with one another. At one point, Easter implies that he can tell Huck isn't fully white, but Jim gets him to drop the subject. Nonetheless, Huck is disarmed by hearing Easter and Jim drop their "slave talk." When the King and the Duke eventually return to find Jim unshackled, they whip Easter, which enrages Easter's enslaver, Mr. Wiley, who says Jim must work for him until Easter recovers. As a result, the King and the Duke leave Jim behind, separating him from Huck.
Easter Quotes in James
The James quotes below are all either spoken by Easter or refer to Easter. 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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Part 1, Chapter 24 Quotes
“Why is that, Jim? I thought we was friends. I thought you trusted me.”
“I does trust you, Huck. Cain’t you see dat? I trusts you wif my life.”
[…]
“I understand why you talk the way you do.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean it makes sense.”
I studied his face. He was talking with his eyes closed, as much fighting sleep as losing to it. There was a lot of this in that face. “You be a smart boy, Huck.”
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Part 1, Chapter 26 Quotes
“White folks watch us work and forget how long we’re left alone in our heads. Working and waiting.”
I smiled. “If only they knew the danger in that.”
“I don’t believe they even know we talk to each other,” Easter said.
“They can’t accept it. They won’t accept it. And they’re always surprised.”
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Easter Character Timeline in James
The timeline below shows where the character Easter appears in James. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 24
...from the saloon and take Huck and Jim to the town’s livery. There, they meet Easter, a Black blacksmith. He acquiesces to the con men’s request and chains Jim to a...
(full context)
When Huck is asleep, Easter drops the performed slave dialect and asks Jim what the boy is to him. Jim...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 25
...the Duke standing over him, furious that he is no longer chained up. He calls Easter over, but Huck claims to have slipped the shackles off Jim. Nevertheless, the Duke clearly...
(full context)
Part 1, Chapter 26
...Wiley tells Jim if he works well, he’ll be treated well. When they are alone, Easter asks Jim if he taught Huck to pass for white. Jim insists he is mistaken,...
(full context)
Jim tells Easter about Denmark Vesey, who was lynched for planning a slave revolt in South Carolina. He...
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