They’d heard rumblings that Union soldiers were drawing near...
-- Narration (chapter 3)

Importance: This line of narration helps to establish some of the primary aspects of the novel's historical setting. The Civil War has recently ended, and Union soldiers have begun to arrive in the South in order to free enslaved people and establish federal oversight. Throughout the novel, political context s as important as the character's individual experiences.

The same I’d pay any other man for the same job.
-- George (chapter 6)

Importance: One of the pivotal events of the book is when George offers to hire Prentiss and Landry as paid laborers on his farm. Moreover, George offers to pay them a fair wage. This offer constitutes a fundamental affirmation of the new post-slavery state of affairs. The other townspeople disapprove of George's actions, as they wish to maintain the slavery in whatever de facto way that they can.

There are freedmen littered about...
-- George (chapter 10)