How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Fern insisted that he had stolen it from a farmer's overcoat—which, Mrs. Bogart raged, was obviously a lie. (32.1.18)
So much for Mrs. Bogart's morals. Fern isn't about to sit around and let Cy Bogart lie about her giving him alcohol; she insists that Cy stole his pint of whisky from a farmer's coat. Drinking is a pretty taboo thing for the men of Gopher Prairie, but it's downright forbidden for women, especially women in Fern's position.
Quote #8
[Cy] had become soggily drunk. Fern had driven him home; depositing him, retching and wabbling, on the Bogart porch. (32.1.18)
By the time Fern is able to get Cy under control, he's hammered. She could easily leave him to fend for himself, but she does the right thing and drives him home. Little does she know that this act of kindness is what will make her look guilty in the eyes of Mrs. Bogart.
Quote #9
Never before had her boy been drunk, shrieked Mrs. Bogart. (32.1.19)
Mrs. Bogart is completely in denial when it comes to how misbehaved her sons are. She has tried to raise them with strict religion, but all three have turned into big troublemakers. (Is there a connection here?) She still insists that none of them ever do anything wrong. She kind of has to say that, we guess; otherwise, it would turn out that all her morals and all her religion actually created something bad rather than something good, and she'd have to think twice about her own behavior. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.