How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I groaned. Mother had been a perfect girl. Her family was wealthy then, but that didn't stop her from stitching entire quilts before breakfast, or spinning miles of wool before tea. It was the War, she liked to remind me. Children did what was asked of them. And she never complained. Oh, no, never. Good children were seen and not heard. How utterly unlike me. (1.7)
The Revolutionary War was a time that asked a lot from people, and they stepped up to the challenge. As a child, Mattie's mother was not allowed to dawdle: she worked hard and took on responsibilities. As an adult, Lucille expects the same things from Mattie. How are things different for Mattie, though?
Quote #2
"You should be dosed with fish oil. When I was a girl…" She kept talking to herself as she carried a steaming pot of water outside to rinse the butter churn. (2.4)
Again, the familiar refrain of "when I was a girl." Is Matilda listening or is Lucille really just talking to herself? Why do the two have such difficulties in communicating?
Quote #3
When I was eight, she got a letter saying her husband had been killed by a runaway horse. That was her worst day. She didn't say a word for months. My father had only been dead two years, so Mother knew just what lay in Eliza's heart. They both supped sorrow with a big spoon, that's what Mother said. It took years, but the smile slowly returned to Eliza's face. She didn't turn sour like Mother did. (2.15)
How do Mother and Eliza deal with the past in different ways?
Quote #4
"Me, the hero of Trenton and Germantown reduced to a simple errand boy. What has the world come to?" (6.16)
Grandfather is a former soldier who served under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. He found glory and fame in the war (or so he says). What's his role now in the family?
Quote #5
"Look at this dust," she exclaimed. "When I was young, my family had a lovely carriage, and we always rode to tea. We arrived fresh and clean." (7.6)
The past is not only something of hard work, but it is an era that's perhaps romanticized by Matilda's mother. Note how she sees it as a time when everything was darn near perfect.
Quote #6
"I didn't run from the redcoats, and I won't run from a dockside miasma. What is wrong with people, Andrew? We suffered all kinds of disease in our youth, but folks were sensible. They didn't squall like children and hide in the woods." (8.28)
Grandfather is tough, that's for sure, and he views the encroaching epidemic much like he sees a militia of redcoats: as a battle to be fought. How is Grandfather right in some ways? Will the fever epidemic come to define Mattie's generation as it has Grandfather's?
Quote #7
"Captain William Farnsworth Cook, Pennsylvania Fifth Regiment, here to escort you beyond the lines of the dread and terrible enemy, Yellow Fever, Miss Matilda."
He clicked his boots together and offered his arm to me. Eliza laughed as she wiped her eyes with her apron. (10.73-10.10.74)
With his boots and his saluting, Grandfather really is the past come to life. Here, Grandfather becomes a comic figure.
Quote #8
The tall thief lifted Grandfather's sword from the mantle. "Go to New York if you wish, but I know a gentleman in Wilmington who will pay a pretty price for this."
"That's not worth a Continental," the short one laughed. "I could get a better price for my old stockings. Every old man in America drags his rusty sword around and claims he ran it through a hundred British. It's a piece of junk." (19.24-19.25)
The thieves' view of Grandfather's soldiering weapon isn't as grand as the way Grandfather would see it. For Grandfather, the sword is a symbol of his authority, his honor, and his accomplishments in battle. To them, it's simply a piece of junk that won't fetch a very high price on the black market.
Quote #9
"That's nearly the last of the flour," the woman said.
"It'll be sawdust after this, just like the War." (24.7)
The parallels between the war and the fever are fairly clear – both are times of hardship that test people's character and call for sacrifices. What events have you experienced that have tested you and your community?
Quote #10
Early morning was the only time I felt as if there were ghosts nearby, memories of the weeks of fear. That's when I found myself listening for Polly's giggle or Grandfather's voice. Sometimes they felt so close. Close enough to tell me I should stop dawdling and get to work. (epilogue.14)
Why is it important that Matilda remember her Grandfather and keep his memory alive? What role will the memories of the fever play in her life to come? Also, why is it significant that this scene is set during the sunrise, the beginning of a new day?