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 #4
Boy Willie: "That ain't nothing but in Berniece's head." (1.1.158)
Boy Willie seems convinced throughout almost all of the play that Sutter's ghost isn't real. Even when other characters start to see the ghost too, he still refuses to believe it's true. Of course, we wonder if he's really as convinced as he seems. Perhaps, all his denial is covering up the fact that he thinks there really is a ghost.
Quote #5
Avery: "My head felt like it was on fire…but I had a peace about myself that was hard to explain. I knew right then that I had been filled with Holy Ghost and called to be a servant of the Lord." (1.1.255)
This quote pops up under the theme of "Spirituality" as well; it comes when Avery is describing the dream that inspired him to become a preacher. Here, we'd just like to point out Wilson's use of the word "Holy Ghost," when he could just as easily have said, "Holy Spirit." You could interpret this as carrying through the theme of ghosts that is threaded through the play. In a way, it links the folk belief in ghosts with Christianity.
Quote #6
Wining Boy: "I done been to where the Southern cross the Yellow Dog and called out their names." (1.2.57)
Wining Boy claims to have spoken with the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog. Later on, he says that, after he talked to them, he "had a stroke of luck that run on for three years" (1.2.59). It seems like Wining Boy drew on the strength from the ghosts, much the way Berniece does at the end of the play.