Bounty

"'These feet identify you forever and always as Flawed,' he says. 'Even if you could somehow rid yourself of your Flawed bracelet, your deformed feet would scream out form every treetop the pertinent information on your unfortunate condition, by virtue of which, in the western portion of our nation, a man like yourself may literally be purchased and enslaved...'" (37)

This passage stuck out to me because it referenced the notion of strictly class-based social patterns.  The way in which Mr. Oberlin talk to the narrator are degrading and demeaning.  The narrator's inability to extricate himself from the position he is in, described as flawed, eliminates hope for him ever becoming "normal."  Because of his feet, a birth defect/deformity that he has absolutely no control over, he is forced to be treated terribly by those around him, and never advance in society or prosper in anyway. It is inhumane the way in which Mr. Oberlin is telling Cole that he "may literally be purchased and enslaved."  The lack of respect that Cole receives in this passage due to his feet is upsetting.  Society's tendency to ostracize and condemn those who are different is far too frequent and un-challenged, as portrayed in "Bounty."