Baldwin uses the word "spoils" to imply that racial prejudice has resulted in ruining the day of his father's funeral.
Explanation:
According to the excerpt from Notes from a Native Son, the narrator describes driving to the graveyard for his father's funeral and how the "spoils" of injustice, hatred and anarchy were all around them.
The best explanation for Baldwin choosing to describe the results of the race riot in Harlem with the word "spoils" is to imply that racial injustice ruined the day of his father's funeral.
This was a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson used to defend freedom and liberty. I think he's basically saying that what's the point of doing things if we aren't granted our freedom in return.
Santiago says he will clean all the merchant’s crystal overnight in exchange for money to get to Egypt. The merchant replies that the trip to Egypt is so long and expensive that Santiago couldn’t earn enough for the trip in a year. Santiago feels disappointed but agrees to take the job.
