Quicksand, Chapter One Summary

Elegant, 20-year old Helga Crane is at home in her lovely living room, which is tastefully furnished and appointed, and a tranquil haven from her stressful job. She feels insulated here from the gossip of the school where she works in the southern town of Naxos. Recalling the sermon she heard earlier in the day about how persecuted the Negroes have been, Helga is angry and wants to leave here forever. Helga does not like the ineffectiveness of her teaching, of the strict negro education system, and the way in which her school has become a black showplace where an attempt is made to turn black children into white. Everything is done without spontaneity, and she knows the students' true natures are being suppressed. She has decided she is unfit for teaching in this oppressive system where the authority...