Poetry · Chapter
Low Price of Cheese explained
A short poem addressing the low price of cheese and the farmers' despair, offering hope that prices will rise and milk will flow abundantly.
What happens
A short poem addressing the low price of cheese and the farmers' despair, offering hope that prices will rise and milk will flow abundantly.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the boy’s childish joy and naive belief that he can see Ameri…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Agriculture and Rural Economy
The poem directly addresses the economic hardship of dairy farmers due to low cheese prices, a key aspect of the rural economy.
Key passages
“When the price of cheese was so low that the farmers threatened to kill or sell off their cows, we circulated the following lines freely among them: Price soon will rise though now ’tis low And brooks of milk will onward flow, Were they collected in one stream There would be floods of milk and cream.”
During a time of very low cheese prices, farmers considered getting rid of their cows. In response, the author shared a hopeful poem predicting that prices would soon increase and that milk would flow abundantly, like a great stream of milk and cream.
The poem serves as a morale booster for struggling farmers, using vivid imagery of milk and cream to inspire optimism.
