How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I just broke down, and Papa let me cry it all out. I just sobbed and sobbed with my head up toward the sky and my eyes closed, hoping God would hear it.
"That's what being a man is all about, boy. It's just doing what's got to be done." (14.31-32)
Shmoop thinks it's really nice that Papa doesn't discourage Rob's tears, but lets him cry all he needs to. Even in Rob and Papa's be-a-man type world, being a man doesn't mean you have to like the dirty job—it just means you have to get it done.
Quote #5
I felt his big hand touch my face, and it wasn't the hand that killed hogs. It was almost as sweet as Mama's. His hand was rough and cold, and as I opened my eyes to look at it, I could see that his knuckles were dripping with pig blood. It was the hand that just butchered Pinky. He did it. Because he had to. Hated to and had to. And he knew that he'd never have to say to me that he was sorry. His hand against my face, trying to wipe away my tears, said it all. His cruel pig-sticking fist with its thick fingers so lightly on my cheek. (14.33)
This passage pulls together all the contradictions of being a man in Rob's world: "Hated to and had to." Papa is just as heartbroken as Rob at the necessity of killing Pinky, but he knew what he had to do, and he did it.
Quote #6
I fed and watered Solomon and Daisy. And milked her. Then I threw some grain to the hens, made sure they had water, and collected the eggs. One was still wet from laying. I remember there was only seven eggs; five whites and two brown. I wiped off the specks and carried them up the hill to the cellar. Then I went into the kitchen where Mama and Aunt Carrie were already moving about. Now that I was thirteen I was taller than both of them. I put an arm around each one of them, and held them close to me. (15.4)
What's the first thing you would do after you lost a beloved family member? The first things Rob does—feeding and milking the animals, collecting the eggs, and so on—seem kind of heartless until you think about the fact that there's nobody else to do these things. It's all up to him.