How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[…] Tom sometimes thought it must have been a pretty good way to live, away off from other folks, picking berries if you had to, and poaching trout out of Armond's brook and pond, instead of sticking to the chores in the barn and around the fields and garden, small as they were. (2.6)
When Tom is a very little boy, his mother tells him stories about her family. For a while, Tom thinks his grandfather's haphazard and nomadic lifestyle sounds kinda fun. But smart little Tom changes his opinion when he sees that that way of life can't provide for a family. That change in attitude shows how he starts to mature and consider his family when most pollywogs are still wiggling their merry way along.
Quote #2
He started doing jobs around the place he hadn't done before, but there wasn't such a lot he could do especially when there was school. The school they went to was about two miles down the valley and just the walking to get there took a big piece out of his time. He couldn't see anyway that what he was learning there was going to be of help to him when he started out to turn around their lives. (2.29)
Tom starts taking on more responsibility and thinking of the future at the tender age of eight. He takes the initiative himself and is motivated to change his family's life. Pretty impressive for an eight-year-old! Even if dropping out of school isn't generally something to be proud of. It's like acing the SATs, but the rural turn-of-the-century version.
Quote #3
"What can we get for you today, my boy?"
That embarrassed Tom even more. He took his hat off, though both the men were wearing theirs. He started to clear his throat, but that turned out to be difficult, too, and when he did get his voice operating, it came out scratchy and high-pitched and he made himself repeat.
"I came to see if I could get a job here, mister." (8.12-14)
Here's a hint: job applications don't work like this today. Even though it does work out for Tom, he's obviously nervous—after all, he's just a country boy in a room full of grown men. His voice is cracking; he's fidgeting with his hat. But he gets through the request and lands the job. Ahem: first jobs are often major milestones in coming-of-age stories.
Quote #4
"Merry Christmas, all," [Mr. Ackerman] said. The men raised their glasses, echoing him, and Tom did the same.
He didn't think much of the way whiskey tasted. He would a lot sooner rather have had a glass of Polly Ann's birch beer or raspberry vinegar, but he drank it down and put the glass back on the counter. (17.8-9)
This is Tom's first time tossing one back with the guys. He doesn't like it, but it's a rite of passage. Oh, and before you go accusing the guys of sketchy behavior with a minor, views about drinking in the early 1900s weren't the same as they are now.
Quote #5
He knew Ox was right, saying he was at the bottom of the ladder; but in a way he wasn't, for it had occurred to him that things in his life had come to a changing point. He and Polly Ann and the girls were better off than they had been last summer. He might still be at the bottom, he thought, but he had his foot on the first rung. (18.1)
This is a good lesson in looking on the bright side. Here, Ox is trying to cheer Tom up after he gets a smaller Christmas bonus than the other mill workers. Tom is able to overcome his feelings of disappointment and acknowledge the small progress he has made. Hey, he didn't get a Christmas bonus at all the year before because he didn't have a job the year before. That's something! That's some mature reflection right there.
Quote #6
During the winter he had had to help Polly Ann with medicine for the two girls when they got sick for near a month with some kind of chest complaint. He had also had to buy two work shirts and new overalls for himself, having outgrown his old clothes. (27.6)
Tom wants to save all his money for the Breen barn, but he also realizes that he has the responsibility to provide the other things he and his family need as well. That's right: buying practical things like medicine and clothes is a sure sign of growing up and taking responsibility. We're pretty sure Tom was thinking "#adulting" as he bought that medicine.
Quote #7
Tom had never been in the bank before. [….] It gave Tom a strange sensation to think he was entering the bank to do business there, the same almost as Erlo Ackerman might do. (53.1)
Three years have passed since Tom started at the mill, but he still feels uncomfortable and out of place going into some adult situations on his own. Nevertheless, he's making progress, and he feels proud when he gets his bankbook. (The ATM card was still decades away.)
Quote #8
"Mr. Dolan," he said again. He seemed to have a little trouble with his throat and had to clear it. "I'm glad to have your order, Mr. Dolan. It's a worthwhile order, too. Very worthwhile, I should say. But it seems, well, kind of large for a man like you."
"What you mean, Joe Garfield," Birdy said in an amiable way, "is you wonder how Tom's going to pay for it." (55.2-3)
Earlier in the novel, Mr. Ackerman went to the pharmacy with Tom to vouch for him. This is years later, and it shows that Tom still needs some guidance in the adult world, but also how much he's grown: now he's making a substantial purchase of his own, rather than running an errand for someone else. Birdy also gets a kick out of sticking up for Tom, and is very proud of him for making the purchase on his own. Cute, huh?
Quote #9
Tom picked it up with the fork and then stood face on to the big brown bird. He had never cut up anything like that and suddenly suggested maybe Mr. Hook would know how to do it right. But Polly Ann would not hear of it. She said Tom was in his own place and head of the family, with a fine new barn, and all, and Mr. Hook agreed. (60.5)
Remember when the Grinch gets the honor of carving the roast beast? Carving the holiday bird at the Christmas dinner table is an iconic position to signify that a person is the head of the celebration. Polly Ann insists that Tom take that position, and it means all the more to get the stamp of approval from Mr. Hook because Tom has seen him as a role model throughout the book. Let's hope he doesn't ruin the meal for everyone.
Quote #10
Mr. Armond was sitting on the front piazza of the big house the way he had been sitting the first time Tom came. As soon as they got up to where the lawns started, his eyes showed bright, hard blue, the same as they had the first time, but there was a questioning look in them, so Tom realized that Mr. Armond didn't recognize who he was. That made Tom feel good inside. Having things happen bit by bit you didn't realize how big the changes were. (63.9)
Since the last time he has seen Mr. Armond, Tom has taken down the Breen barn, built it up again on his property, found the Breen money, purchased a new team of horses and a wagon, and made a plan to turn his family's property into a paying farm. That's a whole lot of catching up to do. As he pulls up to the Armond place in a suit and new wagon, it's clear that he has come a long way.