"He done a little bad thing an' they hurt 'im, caught 'im an' hurt him so he was mad, an' the nex' bad thing he done was mad , an' they hurt 'im again." (76).
The repetition of the phrase "Hurt 'im" is used to elaborate on the cruel actions and effects of violence. When he does something bad, his family hurts him, making him even more mad. The repetition of this word "mad" is used to show this cycle of the responses of his family towards his bad actions. The physical action(Hurt 'im) acts as the stimulus of this cycle while "mad" acts as the response. His family continues to direct these negative actions toward him, forcing him to continue to act in this "bad" way. The phrase "mad" is used to illustrate the feelings felt by Floyd. He possess an angry, bitter feeling towards his family and the punishments. Overall, the quote is used to illustrate that violence can not be used to tame an individual and their actions because in result it leads to more outrage and fury.
Would like this to be fleshed out a bit more.
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