People should be more sympathetic with Ellen because she was living in very bad living conditions. On page 114 when Paul and Ellen are fighting, Paul says “You’re a farmers wife now. It doesn’t matter what you used to be, or how you were brought up. You get enough to eat and wear.” Ellen responds saying “Enough salt pork, enough potatoes and eggs.” Sure Salt-pork, eggs and potatoes are good food, but they are not very nutritious for a nursing mother. She would be getting a lot of protein but nothing else and that isn’t the best for a mother. From that quote form Paul he says she also gets enough to wear. Her clothes are very dry and worn out. Even though Paul’s clothes are in the same condition he is more used to it. He grew up on the farm where Ellen is more of a city girl. One last thing from the quote he said is that it …show more content…
He is very stubborn and will not listen to anything Ellen has to say. An example of this is on page 114 in paragraph 5 and to the bottom of the page. Whenever she wants to talk about the situation they are in he gets very defensive. All she wants to do is spend time with him and to just relax. He doesn’t understand how stressful it is to be stuck inside with a crying baby and the dust storm getting worse for days on end. She can’t even take her child out of the homemade crib because he might contract pneumonia from all the dust. Moving to the city with her parents would be the best option because the dust isn’t as bad there. Paul doesn’t want to because he has lived on a farm his whole life and doesn’t want the handout or to abandon his farm. Sure all you know is farming but that doesn’t mean you cant learn new skills, and who says they have to stay there forever. They can just stay there while things are bad and after they can move back. It would be better that way for the child, Paul and Ellen, and the farm so the ground can rest and become fertile