How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #7
There was a silence. As I sat there on the stairs, I could picture my father's face. There would be anger on it as there so often is, but underneath it, there would be uncertainty and the painful shyness he has around educated people and their big words. My heart suddenly turned traitor on me, and I wanted to take Miss Wilcox by the arm and drag her out of the parlor and tell her to leave my pa alone. (17.furtive.33)
We get a little insight into why some of society reacts the way it does to language and education. Pa feels self-conscious because he's operating outside his comfort zone, and it's possible that Royal dismisses the importance of words because he, too, has forgone traditional schooling for the real-world education he gets from working his father's farm.
And take a look at how Mattie reacts to her father's vulnerability; she wants to protect him from the power that people with words have. So as we consider Mattie's view of words, we should also think about how other people think of words too.
Quote #8
Mr. Sperry took Weaver's chin in his hand and grimaced at the damage. A cut eye that was already blackening. A nose that might well be broken. A lip as fat and shiny as a garden slug. "It's just a word, son. I've been called worse," he said.
"Beg your pardon, Mr. Sperry, but you haven't," Weaver said. "I'm going to the justice of the peace tomorrow," he added. "I'm telling him what happened. I'm pressing charges." (31.limicolous.18-19)
There are so many layers to the word Weaver was called; there's disdain and history and ignorance and self-righteousness and prejudice… the list goes on. Like Mattie, Weaver believes that words have power, and so he, because of his personality, refuses to let other men take power from him with his words.
Quote #9
I had to steady myself against the dresser. I felt like someone had taken my legs out from under me. That's why they'd fought, I thought. That's why Pa had swung the peavey at Lawton and why Lawton had run away. That's why Pa never smiled anymore. Why he was so angry. Why he looked at us but never saw us. Oh, Lawton, I thought, some things should never, ever be said. Words are just words, Royal would say. But words are more powerful than anything. (35.aby.76)
Mattie has just found out that Lawton left because he accused Pa of killing his wife through hard work, and Pa believed—and continues to believe—this accusation. Even though Lawton is wrong, Pa can't escape the guilt and blame and sorrow that these words have caused. Do you think there are things that should never be said? What about honesty in communication?