How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The woman said […] "I know you don't understand what it means, but there's a depression going on all over this country. People can't find jobs and these are very, very difficult times for everybody. We've been lucky enough to find two wonderful families who've opened their doors for you. […]" (1.13)
It does seem lucky that some foster homes will take the orphans, but Bud doesn't look forward to it. Does the Depression make it worse for Bud to enter a new house? Do his foster parents expect different things from him than they would if there weren't a Depression going on?
Quote #2
The way there're more and more kids coming into the Home every day, I had to make sure no one had run off with any of my things. (1.33)
So, why is it that so many kids are becoming orphans during the Depression? Is it because their parents can't afford to feed them? Or because their parents have died? Or because their parents are moving away to find work? There could be a lot of reasons, but the main point is that things are so bad that a lot of kids are losing their parents and their homes, often at very young ages.
Quote #3
I walked over to the sink and turned on one of the spigots. These Amoses had hot water running right into the house! (4.18)
We all take for granted how good we have it now. Even though we don't know what the Amoses do for a living, we do know they must be fairly well off. Still, running water had been around for a long time by the 1930s, so the fact that Bud is so shocked to see it in the Amos house shows us how poor Bud has been for most of his life.