The Grondowski family’s poverty is revealed in many different parts of the book. The book starts off by showing that Josh and his brother Joey have to sleep in the same bed. You can tell because the author writes that “Joey stirred on his side of our bed”(Hunt 7). Soon after that, it is mentioned that Josh had to twist his “body to avoid the broken spring in the chair’s back.” (Hunt 8); this sentence describes how old their family’s furniture is. They obviously don't have enough money to buy new, comfortable chairs or beds. On page 8, it also indicates that the “yellowed figures of cowboys riding their broncs in precise paths from baseboard to ceiling” aren’t important enough to replace (Hunt 8). If the Grondowski family were wealthier, they could afford to waste their money on something that neglected. …show more content…
Because of all these job losses, Josh is the only one making money in his family; “every few pennies counted” (Hunt 9). Later on in the book, it is mentioned how the Grondowskis have barely enough food to feed the whole family. Considerately, both Josh and his father ate little food, so they could save more for Joey and the girls (Hunt 15-16). The one time Joey, Josh’s little brother, got his hands on a bit of money, he wasted it on “milk for a mangy alley cat” (Hunt