How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #7
"And who are your neighbors?" Mac asked quickly. "I'll tell you who they are: Hunter, Gillray, Martin. Who holds your paper? Torgas Finance Company. Who owns Torgas Finance Company? Hunter, Gillray, Martin. Have they been squeezing you? You know God damn well they have. How long you going to last? Maybe one year; and then Torgas Finance takes your place." (89)
Mac points out to Anderson a stark reality: even if the old farmer doesn't side with the workers, the Growers are going to put him out on the street pretty soon. Mac marvels constantly at how "well-organized" the Torgas Valley powers-that-be are, with power distributed into three tight-fisted hands. But aside from this, Mac shows his skills at manipulating the public in order to get what he needs. He's not really concerned about getting justice for Anderson; he just needs a place for his men to stay.
Quote #8
"This here's an old one, but it works. Here's Dick got the sympathizers lined up. We got food and blankets and money comin'. Well, then this comes out. Dick goes the round. The sympathizers say, 'What the hell? The county's feeding 'em.' 'Th' hell it is,' says Dick. And the guy says, 'I seen it in the paper. It says they're sendin' food to you. What you getting' out of this.'" (150)
Mac shows his frustration at the tactics of the Growers' Association. Although he's pretty good at manipulating public opinion himself, we certainly feel the injustice of the Growers' strategy to starve out the workers while making themselves look good. It's a clever tactic, but it's pretty diabolical.
Quote #9
"That's the way it is. If Joy can do some work after he's dead, then he's got to do it. There's no such things as personal feelings in this crowd. Can't be. And there's no such things as good taste, don't you forget it." (160)
Doc cannot believe that Mac would use his friend Joy's dead body to sway the emotions of the men in the camp. But Mac explains that this is just the way things are. He has also told Doc that Joy would have loved being used to manipulate the emotions of the strikers and the public—it's work he believed in. While this is all very utilitarian, it's hard to escape the icky feeling that Mac's humanity tank is not quite full.