How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Papa, you recall what we did when that old cow stayed next to us all night?"
"Come firstlight, we milked a bit of her. So you could have a cup of fresh warm milk for breakfast. And I could have a spoonful for my coffee."
"Was that stealing, Papa?"
"Not hardly. Were it my cow, I'd share with others. And we didn't take but a glass. It weren't as though we stripped her dry." (3.96-99)
When you need help (or when you need a quick cup of milk in the morning), you can reasonably expect a little help from your neighbors. Is this idea unique to Papa in the book?
Quote #5
"There's talk about a new county road," Papa yelled to me in the raining, "and they say it's wide enough to cut the corner of the churchyard at the Meeting House."
"Is that where we be going, Papa?"
"That's where."
"Why?"
"We don't let Sebring Hillman desecrate what's ours that's buried there." (8.15-19)
It's not just that Hillman will be desecrating a grave, but that he's going to desecrate "what's ours." Looks like community remains important even after death.
Quote #6
"Is that really your little girl in the coffin?"
"It is, Robert. And if it's all right with you and your pa, I'm going to bury her in Hillman land. With a Hillman name."
"I guess that's proper," I said, and sort of went off to sleep. (8.63-65)
Hillman is setting things right by finally claiming the dead baby as his own, accepting her publicly into the community of his family. By not owning up to the relationship initially, he had committed a sin against God, yes, but also against the rules of the community. Double whammy.