How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Noah hung Paw's fowling piece with the pouch and the shotbag on the chimney. Mama wanted him to sit at the head of the table, in Paw's chair. It was to remind Noah that he was all the man this family had. (3.5)
Even before the war comes, Mama's already worried that she'll lose Noah to the river the same way she lost Paw. How would you feel if you were expected to take a parent's place in your family? Do the Pruitts need a man in the family for any reason?
Quote #2
A scent came from her, of some flower we didn't know. Noah swayed.
Mama saw and didn't like it. All men were what she called "susceptible," and Noah thought he was a man already. (4.47-48)
Mama and Noah have some kind of weird dynamic going on. Mainly, Mama just wants to make sure nothing—not war and not women—distracts Noah from his main job as the man of the Pruitt family.
Quote #3
I explained to her that womenfolk didn't go into Jenkins's as a rule. The forge was in a back room, and men were apt to hang around there, chewing and using language we all knew but weren't supposed to. (5.10)
Even before the war, life in Grand Tower is quite divided by gender. What does Tilly mean when she mentions "language we all knew but weren't supposed to"?