How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #7
ASAGAI
…Don’t you see that there will be young men and women – not British soldiers then, but my own black countrymen – to step out of the shadows some evening and slit my then useless throat? Don’t you see they have always been there… that they always will be. And that such a thing as my own death will be an advance? They who might kill me even… actually replenish all that I was. (3.1.43)
In Asagai's mind, progress requires sacrifice. He is prepared to die in the process of improving conditions in Africa. To him, his life is worth the betterment of his home continent.
Quote #8
RUTH (turning and going to MAMA fast – the words pouring out with urgency and desperation)
Lena – I’ll work … I’ll work twenty hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago… I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors in America and wash all the sheets in America if I have to – but we got to MOVE! We got to get OUT OF HERE!! (3.1.74)
Ruth is willing to sacrifice her time and energy in order to keep the house they have so rightfully bought. The old dingy apartment is killing her, and she feels that working even harder than now is a good trade for a more hospitable place to live.