How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The private lesson took an hour and required neither pencil nor paper; it was essential that Abby keep all the information in her head. Mother Barker cautioned that it was not the ingredients alone, but how they were put together that made the difference. (6.120)
Abby gets a private baking lesson from Mother Barker in which she learns her godmother's top secret recipe for her infamous pound cake. Nobody else can bake a cake quite as well as Mother Barker, so learning how to do so puts Abby in a coveted social position.
Quote #5
Abby let her voice drop two inches. "And after they wrapped her in her winding sheet, they buried her in a watery grave next to the coal-black snake. And today, in the spot where they both rested, you will find a blackberry vine. They say she is the berries, and the snake is the stickers.
"And if you want to get a Lubelle berry…
"I say if you want to eat a Lubelle berry…
"If you want to taste a Lubelle berry, you got to go through the snake." (16.101-104)
Storytelling is an integral part of socializing in Ponca City, particularly during the cotton harvest. While on one hand, this is because listening to and telling stories is fun, on the other, stories are told to teach lessons, particularly to children. The story of the Lubelle berry is one such education tale—it's a moral dressed up as a ghost story.
Quote #6
"This child that was reading to me showed me your picture in the Black Dispatch. Said you got the honors from the school."
"That's right, but that won't help me in Ponca City. There are no medical schools here." (23.13-14)
Abby has worked hard and risen to the top of her class at school—and yet despite this investment in her education, she finds herself with no nearby options to continue pursuing her studies. Well, that is, until Mother Barker makes her an offer…