How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He started doing jobs around the place he hadn't done before, but there wasn't such a lot he could do especially when there was school. The school they went to was about two miles down the valley and just the walking to get there and get home took a big piece out of his time. He couldn't see anyway that what he was learning there was going to be of help to him when he started out to turn around their lives. (2.10)
Ever feel like that algebra you're learning in school won't be useful in the real world? Tom feels ya. He thinks there are more efficient ways to be learning the skills he needs to help his family. (By the way, we'll bet you an x to a y that at some point algebra will come in super handy.)
Quote #2
"Looks like your life is about to change. Looks like you're going to quit your schooling and make some money. Not a great lot of it," she added, to Tom's disappointment. She dealt out some more cards. "But there's quite a lot of money here later on. You ain't going to go around like a low-down Dolan any more." (6.24)
Today, most of us are told that education (through school) is the way to a better future, but Tom is told the exact opposite by the Widow Breen when she's telling his fortune. A ton of stuff would be different if Tom's story were set in the modern day. How do you think the Widow's fortune-telling would be different if the book took place in the twenty-first century?
Quote #3
They were silent a while, and then she said, "You sure you want to quit school?"
"It ain't doing me any good right now that I can see. And I want to bring us some money." (7.18-19)
Sure, it might teach him that "ain't" ain't recognized by the dictionary. But again, this is a different time, and Tom has bigger fish to fry. It's not that Tom is a money-grubbing greed machine, but here, he points out the need to be practical. His reasoning floats the idea that education is a luxury that those who need to work to support their families can't afford.