How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She wrapped Jacob in his bundlings, and they crossed a pasture whose barbed wire now kept nothing in, empty for the first time in her life. Rachel saw the trees they walked toward had all their fall colors now, their canopy bright and various as a button jar. (7.2)
Rachel has to sell everything to make ends meet, including her livestock. She struggles to feed Jacob sometimes, and even goes without food herself on occasion so the little guy gets fed. Characters in this book live in one of two extremes—rich or poor.
Quote #5
"We expect nothing more than to be treated like other wealthy landowners," Serena said. (14.39)
Her snarky comment to the Secretary of the Interior shows just how greedy and manipulative Serena is, but it also highlights how much the rich social classes benefit from being rich. They can demand higher prices for land—and get them—whereas the lower classes get denied an extra fifty cents a week.
Quote #6
Campbell had chosen the gifts with a wide sympathy of taste and imagination, ordering what he could not find in Scott's General Store from the Sears, Roebuck catalogue and a Soco Gap moonshiner, so the workers had much to choose from with their fifty-cent allowance. Those with children came up first. Because Campbell wouldn't allow it otherwise, these men spent at least half their portion lightening the shelf that held licorice whips and oranges. (17.1)
Campbell is so considerate and thoughtful, especially when he buys gifts for the workers. Even though he could get in trouble with the Pembertons, Campbell purchases the gifts so it will feel like Christmas. We get a glimpse of what it's like to be poor in this time from these descriptions.