--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What rent do you pay here?\" I inquired…" description: "\"“What rent do you pay here?\" I inquired. \"I don’t know,—what is it, Sam?\" \"All we make,\" answered Sam. It is a depressing place,—bare, unshaded, with n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_misery_what-rent-do-you-pay-here-i-inquired-i-d_935347.jpg" --- # What rent do you pay here?" I inquired. "I don’t… ![“What rent do you pay here?" I inquired. "I don’t know,—what is it, Sam?" "All we make," answered Sam. It is a depressing place,—bare, unshaded, with no charm of past association, only a memory of forced human toil,—now, then, and before the war. They are not happy, these black men whom we meet…” quote by W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_misery_what-rent-do-you-pay-here-i-inquired-i-d_935347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_misery_what-rent-do-you-pay-here-i-inquired-i-d_935347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_misery_what-rent-do-you-pay-here-i-inquired-i-d_935347.jpg) > ““What rent do you pay here?" I inquired. "I don’t know,—what is it, Sam?" "All we make," answered Sam. It is a depressing place,—bare, unshaded, with no charm of past association, only a memory of forced human toil,—now, then, and before the war. They are not happy, these black men whom we meet throughout this region. There is little of the joyous abandon and playfulness which we are wont to associate with the plantation Negro.”” [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage portrays the harsh, joyless reality of labor under oppressive conditions, contrasting it with romanticized stereotypes of plantation life. **In simple terms:** Hard work under oppression lacks joy and dignity. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge harmful stereotypes. Themes oppression labor stereotypes history identity Mood somber reflective Type social historical critical When to use this quote - social work - education - policy reform - community organizing Key Concepts racial injustice economic exploitation cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - How do stereotypes shape our view of labor? - What can be done to restore dignity to oppressed workers? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook moments of resilience and agency among the people described. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Rent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rent/) [Stereotype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stereotype/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to be fully convinced of the abominations of slavery, go on a southern plantation, and call yourself a negro trader. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/if-you-want-to-be-fully-convinced-of-the-abominations-of-slavery-go/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [Sam was slow getting up. To Quinn he looked like an old man standing up after slipping on the ice. But he looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/sam-was-slow-getting-up-to-quinn-he-looked-like-an-old-man-standing/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [The free-from aisle is the most depressing place in the supermarket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-woodward/the-free-from-aisle-is-the-most-depressing-place-in-the-supermarket/) [Ella Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-woodward/) > [In the early '90s, New York was a pretty depressing place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/in-the-early-90s-new-york-was-a-pretty-depressing-place/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [“A court is the most depressing place on earth. Wherever there is a throne, one may observe in rich detail every folly and wickedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/a-court-is-the-most-depressing-place-on-earth-wherever-there-is-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ “\[T\]here may be no more depressing place on the planet than the floor of a casino.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-doucette/t-here-may-be-no-more-depressing-place-on-the-planet-than-the-floor/) [Gene Doucette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-doucette/) > [As someone who was once in the closet, I can tell you it is the most sad, dark, awful, depressing place to ever be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-o-malley/as-someone-who-was-once-in-the-closet-i-can-tell-you-it-is-the-most/) [Rory O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-o-malley/) > [Airbnb was born out of necessarity. Our rent went up. It was born out of a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gebbia/airbnb-was-born-out-of-necessarity-our-rent-went-up-it-was-born-out/) [Joe Gebbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gebbia/) > [Every job is a blessing. Everyone has to take into account what is available. Are you paying rent, who do you get to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-foster/every-job-is-a-blessing-everyone-has-to-take-into-account-what-is/) [Ben Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-foster/) > [Using a service such as Chegg.com, students can save on average more than $600 a year when they rent textbooks over purchasing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osman-rashid/using-a-service-such-as-chegg-com-students-can-save-on-average-more/) [Osman Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osman-rashid/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [We need a politics that is direct, that speaks to people's own lives. If I tell you that I'm going to freeze your rent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zohran-mamdani/we-need-a-politics-that-is-direct-that-speaks-to-people-s-own-lives/) [Zohran Mamdani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zohran-mamdani/) > [We did rent some houses in different hub cities which made it that we weren't in hotels all the time. But we're on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-fisher/we-did-rent-some-houses-in-different-hub-cities-which-made-it-that-we/) [Mike Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-fisher/) > [“The rent should rise with the elevator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-rent-should-rise-with-the-elevator/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I've always believed that service to others is rent we pay for our time on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-ve-always-believed-that-service-to-others-is-rent-we-pay-for-our/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) ## More by W.E.B. Du Bois > [“The South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/the-south-believed-an-educated-negro-to-be-a-dangerous-negro-and-the/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“So flagrant became the political scandals that reputable men began to leave politics alone, and politics consequently became disreputable. Men began to pride themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/so-flagrant-became-the-political-scandals-that-reputable-men-began-to/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“A university is a human invention for the transmission of knowledge and culture from generation to generation, through the training of quick minds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/a-university-is-a-human-invention-for-the-transmission-of-knowledge/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“A resistless feeling of depression falls slowly upon us, despite the gaudy sunshine and the green cotton-fields. This, then, is the Cotton Kingdom--the shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/a-resistless-feeling-of-depression-falls-slowly-upon-us-despite-the/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“All life long crying without avail, As the water all night long is crying to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/all-life-long-crying-without-avail-as-the-water-all-night-long-is/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Again, we may decry the color-prejudice of the South, yet it remains a heavy fact. Such curious kinks of the human mind exist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/again-we-may-decry-the-color-prejudice-of-the-south-yet-it-remains-a/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/lo-we-are-diseased-and-dying-cried-the-dark-hosts-we-cannot-write-our/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Not a single Southern legislature stood ready to admit a Negro, under any conditions, to the polls; not a single Southern legislature believed free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/not-a-single-southern-legislature-stood-ready-to-admit-a-negro-under/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/i-sit-with-shakespeare-and-he-winces-not-across-the-color-line-i-move/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/he-began-to-have-a-dim-feeling-that-to-attain-his-place-in-the-world/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Thus it is doubly difficult to write of this period calmly, so intense was the feeling, so mighty the human passions that swayed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/thus-it-is-doubly-difficult-to-write-of-this-period-calmly-so-intense/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“perhaps, having already reached conclusions in our own minds, we are loth to have them disturbed by facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/perhaps-having-already-reached-conclusions-in-our-own-minds-we-are/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“was at first bitter, and showed itself in ashes, insult, and blood; for the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/was-at-first-bitter-and-showed-itself-in-ashes-insult-and-blood-for/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“ Joseph Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature. He was simple, calm and courageous. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/joseph-stalin-was-a-great-man-few-other-men-of-the-20th-century/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“High in the tower, where I sit above the loud complaining of the human sea, I know many souls that toss and whirl and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/high-in-the-tower-where-i-sit-above-the-loud-complaining-of-the-human/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) [Explore all 53 W.E.B. Du Bois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) ## More Misery quotes > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-sure-makes-misery-easier-to-live-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [You see misery, you see misfortune, you see pain, you see suffering. It's all part of the fatalistic way of looking at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/you-see-misery-you-see-misfortune-you-see-pain-you-see-suffering-it-s/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“Misery only added to the cumulative experience of the adventure that would ultimately sculpt me into a stronger, more resilient human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-rohrig/misery-only-added-to-the-cumulative-experience-of-the-adventure-that/) [Kyle Rohrig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-rohrig/) > [If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can't control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/if-you-try-to-control-everything-and-then-worry-about-the-things-you/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) [Browse all 2,835 Misery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What rent do you pay here?\" I inquired. \"I don’t know,—what is it, Sam?\" \"All we make,\" answered Sam. It is a depressing place,—bare, unshaded, with no charm of past association, only a memory of forced human toil,—now, then, and before the war. They are not happy, these black men whom we meet throughout this region. There is little of the joyous abandon and playfulness which we are wont to associate with the plantation Negro.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W.E.B. 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