How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He put [the house] up on the side of the hill a bit above the barn, and from the front stoop you could see out east across the big swamp, gray and empty-looking in fall, so it seemed to some as if he had built his house on the outside edge of the world and looked off into nothingness. (1.2)
The book makes a big deal about the Breen place being off by itself and about Mr. and Mrs. Breen keeping to themselves. The Breens like it that way, but Tom often thinks it must be lonesome. Why do you think Tom and the Breens have such different attitudes about being isolated? Is it an age thing? A personality thing?
Quote #2
But there she was, a young woman not yet twenty-eight, living alone. In some ways having a man around, even if he is no good, is better than having none. (1.19)
Polly Ann's husband leaves her alone with three small children after five years of marriage. Despite what the text observes here, Polly Ann does just fine without Nob, and later on in the book, she is complimented for having raised a "fine son" (63.28). What do you think? Is it better to have someone around who's no good rather than have no one at all?
Quote #3
Pretty soon Tom learned that [Ox's] real name was Marvin Hubbard. He had two children, grown up and gone from home, and his wife was poorly. When he wasn't in the mill, he spent his time looking after her. Perhaps that was why he got to talking more and more with Tom and pretty soon having his lunch with him, when business didn't interfere. (9.2)
Ox is the first friend Tom makes at the mill. There's a big difference between the two guys, and Ox has had a lot of life experiences that Tom hasn't had yet (duh: he's decades older), but they get along anyway. Ox teaches Tom the ropes at the mill, and Tom becomes someone for Ox to spend time with. There's the sense that Ox was lonely before meeting Tom and that Tom has a special way of making people not feel so lonely.
Quote #4
"It's a good thing, giving presents for Christmas," Mr. Hook went on; but he sounded as if for him there wasn't much to it any more. Tom recalled hearing Ox say that Mr. Hook lived alone. His wife, Ox, said, had gone off with another man not long after they were married. No one knew what lay behind it, but George Hook hadn't married again, though there were plenty of young women who would have been glad to oblige him if he had ever asked. (12.4)
Look at that. Mr. Hook's wife left him just like Polly Ann's husband left her. It's definitely not the best of things to have in common, but it emphasizes Tom's knack for facilitating friendships and his ability to repair the past. Mr. Hook even finds the joy in Christmas again, joining the Dolan family for the holiday after he grows close to Tom. Cute.
Quote #5
He went across to the road and started down it, feeling sudden loneliness overwhelming him. It had begun to snow. It was a snow without wind, drifting straight and softly to the earth, but there was a lot of it. As he came down the hill to join the river road he knew that his snowshoe track would be all dusted over back on the flats. There would be nothing to show he had visited the Widow Breen. (20.23)
Nothing like trudging through a snowstorm to make you feel lonely. Especially after visiting Mrs. Breen, even if she insists that she's not lonely because she has so many memories. Still, as Tom leaves her place, he's overcome with a feeling of loneliness from seeing how solitary her life is. Ever heard the saying that there's a difference between being alone and being lonely? Does the Widow Breen make a convincing case that being alone actually isn't the sad state of affairs Tom makes it out to be?
Quote #6
The two buildings looked just the same as when Tom had last seen them, only there was no snow; and it didn't seem as lonely with all of them climbing down from the wagons and clustering on the porch. (24.8)
Tom never really says that he himself is lonely. However, when he is in group of men like in this scene and when he talks about belonging, there is a feeling that this type of camaraderie has been missing from his life. Who doesn't love being part of a cluster?
Quote #7
Birdy Morris was the last to put in an appearance. He came out on the porch, shuffling in a pair of old fleece slippers, and stared up the road over his humped shoulder. He recognized Tom and Drew right away, and even from as far as he still was Tom could see the grin come on Birdy's face.
"Get down and visit a while," he invited. (36.17-18)
When Tom is pulling up to Birdy's, he thinks it looks "as lonely as the Widow Breen's" (36.16). First, there's the fact that Birdy's place is over a mile away from the nearest neighbor. There's also the sense that Birdy is alone in other ways, since he doesn't have any family alive or close by. Birdy never complains about being lonely, but he does perk up when Tom is around, and Tom broadens Birdy's social circle, getting him to interact with other men like Mr. Hook and the folks at the barn-raising.
Quote #8
[…] he could see how pleased and excited Birdy was at having company. He went to fetch their own lunch pails.
Polly Ann was handing down her lunch basket when he came back and Mr. Hook was holding up a hand to help her down over the wheel. She took it, though she needed steadying about as much as a bird on the limb of a tree. (40.19-20)
Birdy, Mr. Hook, and Polly Ann have all grown close because of Tom. Each of those characters was able to survive on his or her own before Tom's actions brought them together, but there's the sentiment that life is way better and more enjoyable when there are other people around to share it with. Especially with the occasional hand-hold thrown in. Scandalous!
Quote #9
After Hawkinville, he and Polly Ann and Drew ought to have the towpath all to themselves. They met no one, and the only lights they saw came from the windows of two small houses, about a quarter of a mile apart, where the Barton brothers lived. Both the Bartons were over seventy. They lived by themselves, never having worked up enough never to get married. They never spoke to each other, either. But at the same time neither one of them had thought of moving somewhere else. Tom got to thinking how queer some men could get to be. (49.7-8)
Being alone makes a person kinda cuckoo (and not just for Cocoa Puffs), at least in the opinion of Tom. Like the Widow Breen, the Bartons are old people who keep to themselves. Tom finds this to be really odd. And maybe it is, or maybe it's just different from what Tom's used to. Though Tom is no extrovert, he's always had the pleasant companionship of his mom and sisters and likes being around other people. It may be tempting sometimes, but living in the same house as your siblings and never exchanging words does seem a bit off.
Quote #10
Even though there were quite a lot of them, it seemed a lonely place. On the damp, still night air, he could smell poorly tended privies. It wasn't the kind of place he would ever want to live in. (49.13)
When Tom passes through the impoverished Irish Settlement area, he notes that people can be lonely even if they are not technically by themselves. Polly Ann tells him that many Irish immigrants came to the area to work on the canal, but after that they couldn't find jobs. Feeling purposeless, helpless, forsaken, or forgotten can lead to loneliness too. Now that's deep.