"I think I may need a new winter coat."
"Better speak to your mother to start stitching."
"I want a store coat. I need one."
"So do I. But one thing to learn, Rob, is this. Need is a weak word. Has nothing to do with what people get. Ain't what you need that matters. It's what you do. And your mother'll do you a coat." (12.77-80)
When you're as poor as the Pecks are, you need to know the difference between what you need and what you simply want.
"Jacob Henry said that in one store in Learning they let you wear all the coats you want before you buy one. And you can put on any coat you want and walk around the store in it, even if you don't buy it. But you know what I'd do. I'd buy a red and black one, like Jacob Henry's. It would be my coat forever, and I'd never wear it out."
"Reckon you'd outgrow it before you outwear it."
"Probably would. But I sure do want a coat like that. Why do we have to be Plain People? Why do we, Papa?"
"Because we are." (12.83-86)
Wow, even the idea of wearing a fancy store-bought coat around in the store is enough to make Rob's head spin. But Papa knows that first and foremost, they are plain people, and they need to keep their priorities straight.
Quote 9
All this talk of hogs and dollars and meat and banks was rolling around inside my head with no direction. It didn't quite sound Christian to me, but then I suppose that everyone in the world didn't all live strict by the Book of Shaker.
"But we're Plain People, sir. It may not be right to want for so much."
"Nonsense, boy. Bess and I are fearing Christians, same as you." (13.68-70)
Rob isn't quite sure if it's okay to think about all the good things that may come his way as a result of Pinky's potential piglets. (Say that three times fast—we dare you.) Humility of all kinds—in dress, behavior, and even in thought—is one of the principles of the Peck family.