Each thing had a value and as the value changed, everything else changed also … in America the quirk was that people were things. Best to cut your losses on an old man who won’t survive a trip across the ocean. A young buck from strong tribal stock got customers into a froth. A slave girl squeezing out pups was like a mint, money that bred money. If you were a thing – a cart or a horse or a slave – your value determined your possibilities. [Ajarry] minded her place.”
-- Narration (Section 1 - Ajarry)

Importance: In this quote, narration sums an essential element of the experience of being a slave in America at the time in which the story is set (the early 1800's): a slave was less than human, and more replaceable than an object. This is the kind of psychological chaining from which Cora and other escaping slaves made desperate efforts to flee.

What...
-- Narration (Section 1 – Georgia, Part 2)