How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I was worried, too, about how he would keep a wound clean when he lived without a faucet. I knew I couldn't tell my aunt Agnès, or anyone else, that we needed to deliver Amiel to his camp on the river, but I couldn't stop myself from interfering, either. (22.23)
After Amiel hurts his hand, Pearl worries about whether he will be able to wash and dress it out in the woods. Much as she wants to help, though, Amiel wants to take care of the situation himself instead of letting his boss handle everything. He might be poor, but he's self-reliant.
Quote #5
"She tried to tell me that the tortoise cannot live with the parakeet." (23.12)
Agnès uses a little story (surprise, surprise) to talk about Amiel and Pearl's relationship. According to her, two different animals (or people from different classes, in this case) can't be together. Amiel is a homeless day laborer, and Agnès thinks that means he shouldn't be with Pearl. Ever.
Quote #6
For fifteen years, I worked ten hours a day. I did work I hated because that was my role: to earn the money that paid for everything everyone wanted. It was her job to—well, I wouldn't really call it a job. It was more like a lot of hobbies that she treated as if they were jobs, even though none of them earned a dime. (25.43)
Pearl's dad's description of his life before he left sounds like a lot of hard work. But you know what? That's life. Now his wife and child live in poverty—or at least at the mercy of Hoyt—because he couldn't stand to keep working and supporting them without being happy.