How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Merry Christmas, all," [Mr. Ackerman] said. The men raised their glasses, echoing him, and Tom did the same.
He didn't think much of the way whiskey tasted. He would a lot sooner rather have had a glass of Polly Ann's birch beer or raspberry vinegar, but he drank it down and put the glass back on the counter. (17.8-9)
This is Tom's first time tossing one back with the guys. He doesn't like it, but it's a rite of passage. Oh, and before you go accusing the guys of sketchy behavior with a minor, views about drinking in the early 1900s weren't the same as they are now.
Quote #5
He knew Ox was right, saying he was at the bottom of the ladder; but in a way he wasn't, for it had occurred to him that things in his life had come to a changing point. He and Polly Ann and the girls were better off than they had been last summer. He might still be at the bottom, he thought, but he had his foot on the first rung. (18.1)
This is a good lesson in looking on the bright side. Here, Ox is trying to cheer Tom up after he gets a smaller Christmas bonus than the other mill workers. Tom is able to overcome his feelings of disappointment and acknowledge the small progress he has made. Hey, he didn't get a Christmas bonus at all the year before because he didn't have a job the year before. That's something! That's some mature reflection right there.
Quote #6
During the winter he had had to help Polly Ann with medicine for the two girls when they got sick for near a month with some kind of chest complaint. He had also had to buy two work shirts and new overalls for himself, having outgrown his old clothes. (27.6)
Tom wants to save all his money for the Breen barn, but he also realizes that he has the responsibility to provide the other things he and his family need as well. That's right: buying practical things like medicine and clothes is a sure sign of growing up and taking responsibility. We're pretty sure Tom was thinking "#adulting" as he bought that medicine.