Money

Money is earned through hard work in the novel. The earning of money by Pa, both in his store and from the crops and animals on the family homestead, demonstrates that Pa and his family are doing much better than in the past. They are no longer subsistence homesteaders, but are able to turn a profit from their labors. As such, they are able to afford to send Mary to college for the blind. Laura herself goes to work in town making shirts at Clancy’s dry goods store. There, she earns nine dollars, something she has never done before. She is thrilled to have made an income to help her family.

Corn

Corn is one of the main crops that Pa grows on the family’s homestead. It is besieged by blackbirds just before harvest season. The entire family works to chase the blackbirds away...