How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I made a mistake," he said. "I admit hit. I reckon everybody does." (5.2.38)
When Ab Snopes confesses his sin, he calls it a mistake. Yeah, we'd agree that it was a mistake to lure Granny to her violent death. The problem with Snopes's apology is that he tries to blend in; instead of owning his mistake he just reminds the boys that everybody makes them. Not what they were looking to hear.
Quote #5
"It wasn't him or Ab Snopes either that kilt her," Ringo said. "It was them mules. That first batch of mules we got for nothing." (5.4.5)
Granny was killed by Grumby, let's make that clear. And Ab Snopes was the one who set her up. But the underlying sin, her greed and thieving, is what put her in the position to let those two evildoers kill her.
Quote #6
"I have come to appeal to them once more with a mother's tears though I dont think it will do any good though I had prayed until the very last that this boy's innocence might be spared and preserved but what must be must be and at least we can all three bear our burden together." (6.2.18)
The innocent boy in this scene is Bayard, and his Aunt Louisa intends to keep him that way by forcing her daughter, Dru, to marry John. In case you're missing the subtext, Aunt Louisa thinks they are living in sin, having sexual relations outside of marriage, and therefore is scandalized. She'll solve that sin by having them marry.