Quote 7
"What Tena means," Papa said, "is that the strongbox was a symbol of Abie's pride. To have it opened and let everybody know it was empty would have meant having charity forced upon him. Abie chose to die with Jewish dignity instead of living in the humiliation of charity. It could never have happened if he hadn't been a Jew." (6.64)
Maybe it's because we don't live in Adenville, but we don't really get this. People of many religious and ethnic persuasions would rather starve than take charity. A little bit of anti-Semitism seems to be showing.
Quote 8
Papa thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. "Open a variety store right here in Adenville," he said.
Abie's eyes brightened for a second and then became sad. "I'm afraid it wouldn't pay," he said. "The Mormons naturally buy everything they can at the Z.C.M.I. store and there aren't enough non-Mormons in Adenville to support a variety store. Besides, it would take every cent I have to open a store and if it failed…" He did not finish the sentence. (4.57-58)
Abie wants it to work, but he knows from the beginning it's too good to be true. The grown-up dreams are considerably sadder than the kid dreams in this book. Tear.