How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Don't you think it's hard on the rest of us when you pay so much?" (7.4.28)
When Carol tells her friends about how much she pays her maid each week, they lose their tempers with her. In their minds, Carol is undercutting the whole town by paying a simple maid too much money. Before you know it, all the maids will be expecting fair wages, and who wants that? Right?
Quote #8
"In Gopher Prairie," the Sam Clarks boasted, "you don't get any of this poverty that you find in the cities—always plenty of work—no need of charity—man got to be blame shiftless if he don't get ahead." (10.3.6)
Sam Clark likes to think that if you don't get ahead in Gopher Prairie, then it's because you just ain't trying. He'll admit that work can be tough to find in crowded cities, but in his mind, there's always something that needs to be done in Gopher Prairie. He just doesn't seem to realize that the laborers are paid so little that there's no way they can save or get ahead, no matter how hard they work.
Quote #9
"He's a socialist, the foreman. (Don't tell Lym Cass that! Lym would fire a socialist quicker than he would a horse-thief!)" (10.3.33)
Miles Bjornstam knows all of the secret socialists around Gopher Prairie, but he also knows enough to keep their identities secret. If the bosses ever found out there were socialists around, there'd be hell to pay. So much for freedom of beliefs, we guess.