How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
Rose: "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football."
Bono: "You right about that, Rose. Times have changed, Troy. You just come along too early." (1.1.76-1.1.77)
Bono and Rose are trying to talk some sense into the stubborn Troy. They want him to understand that just because racism crushed his dreams of being a professional ball player, it doesn't mean the same thing will happen to Cory. Once again, though, Troy refuses to see their point of view. It seems like he's too jaded by the failure of his dreams to see the new reality around him.
Quote #5
Troy: "I done seen a hundred n*****s play baseball better than Jackie Robinson. Hell, I know some teams Jackie Robinson couldn't even make! What you talking about Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson wasn't nobody." (1.1.82)
When Jackie Robinson was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers, he broke racial barriers by becoming the first black baseball player to play in the major leagues since baseball was first segregated in 1889. While many African Americans drew inspiration from Robinson, Troy talks trash about him. It makes sense that Troy would be jealous: Robinson got the chance that Troy wanted more than anything.
Quote #6
Lyons: "I just stay with my music because that's the only way I can find to live in the world." (1.1.153)
Here we learn Lyons's dream: to be a musician. Well, he already is a musician, but he hasn't managed to make a living at it yet. It looks like he mostly survives off his girlfriend's money and the ten dollars a week that Troy reluctantly gives him. With Lyons, just as with most characters in the play, we see a person whose dreams never quite come true.