How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)
Quote #4
I looked at Ma, / so pregnant with one baby. / "Can you imagine five?" I said. / Ma lowered herself into a chair. / Tears dropping on her tight stretched belly, / she wept / just to think of it. (30.2)
It goes without saying that being pregnant with five babies at the same time probably isn't at the top of most women's bucket lists, but Ma's heartbreaking reaction to the news story of the Dionne quintuplets reveals how dire the family's position really is. Having a baby in the midst of extreme poverty and the dust's destruction of the land is clearly a heavy burden for her, and the idea of having five in her position is too much to bear.
Quote #5
We watched him walk away / down the road, / in a pair of Daddy's mended overalls, / his legs like willow limbs, / his arms like reeds. / Ma rested her hands on her heavy stomach, / Daddy rested his chin on the top of my head. / "His mother is worrying about him," Ma said. / "His mother is wishing her boy would come home." (31.3)
The "wild boy of the road" is another case where a minor character drifts into the story to reveal something about the harshness of life in the Depression. Like Livie's brother, this boy has been forced to leave his family to find work to support them. The book gradually builds a portrayal of poverty's ability to rip apart families, on top of its other hardships.
Quote #6
Miss Freeland said, / "During the Great War we fed the world. / We couldn't grow enough wheat / to fill all the bellies. / The price the world paid for our wheat / was so high / it swelled our wallets / and our heads." (46.1)
Miss Freeland speculates that the Dust Bowl region's poverty, though made worse by the Depression, was the product of greed and pride—the desire for profit became greater than the need to farm efficiently, and as a result, their soil and livelihood are now damaged. Like the United States before the Depression, good, profitable times can easily descend into harsh conditions.