How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She and her brother, Neeley, like other Brooklyn kids, collected rags, paper, metal, rubber, and other junk and hoarded it in locked cellar bins or in boxes under the bed […]
On the way to Carney’s, they met other kids coming back empty-handed. They had sold their junk and already squandered their pennies. Now, swaggering back, they jeered at the other kids.
“Rag picker! Rag picker!” (1.9-13)
Who doesn’t love some spending money, right? Well, these kids are no different. Think of this like cashing in bottles and cans like many people do today. It’s the same idea—they just collected a lot more than bottles and cans back then (and got a whole lot less money for them, too). Also, isn’t it kind of strange how mean we can be to people who are just like us? For real—the kids who pick on them for being “rag pickers” are “rag pickers” themselves. What is up with that? Is that something that only happened in the past or are people still mean to those who are just like them sometimes?
Quote #2
“Before I joined the Union the bosses paid me what they felt like. Sometimes they paid me nothing. The tips, they said, would take care of me. Some places even charged me for the privilege of working. The tips were so big, they said, that they could sell the waiting concession. Then I joined the Union. Your mother shouldn’t begrudge the dues. The Union gets me jobs where the boss has to pay me certain wages, regardless of tips. All trades should be unionized.” (3.21)
Labor unions helped improve the life of many workers during this time period.
Quote #3
Losher’s redeemed the stale bread from the dealers and sold it at half price to the poor […] There was never enough bread and some waited until three or four wagons had reported before they could buy bread. (1.57)
The crowds jammed into this little place just for the chance to buy stale bread or risk going hungry. The poverty that these people dealt with is very real.