Tom Sr. is Abner’s father. At the beginning of the book, Tom works in a freight-car factory making $1.40 a day. Although he is poor, he maintains faith in the American Dream and believes that his son can achieve social mobility. When Tom is in his 60s, his legs are overcome with joint pain and he loses his job and is forced to move in with Abner and Milly. Tom subsequently dies during the Great Depression.
Tom Shutt Sr. Quotes in The Flivver King
The The Flivver King quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Shutt Sr. or refer to Tom Shutt Sr.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 58
Quotes
Such things do not seem much to outsiders, but they are what break the spirit of poor people who have always earned what they spent and kept themselves “respectable.” Abner had come now to the point where he had to forget that his second son was a bootlegger and a gangster, and let Milly take gratefully whatever money Hank brought.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Flivver King LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tom Shutt Sr. Quotes in The Flivver King
The The Flivver King quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Shutt Sr. or refer to Tom Shutt Sr.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 58
Quotes
Such things do not seem much to outsiders, but they are what break the spirit of poor people who have always earned what they spent and kept themselves “respectable.” Abner had come now to the point where he had to forget that his second son was a bootlegger and a gangster, and let Milly take gratefully whatever money Hank brought.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
