# XXXII: Cherries, Berries, and Berry-Thieves explained — Driven Back to Eden

> Chapter companion for Driven Back to Eden by Edward Payson Roe.

## What happens

The family encounters a dangerous neighbor family, warned by Mr. Jones to steer clear. Despite the threat, the narrator resolves to show kindness while keeping his children away. The chapter details preparations for fruit harvesting, including packaging from Mr. Bogart, and the first shipment of cherries and raspberries. While the family is away, Merton confronts the neighbor children stealing fruit, leading to a fight and vandalism of Mousie's flowerbed and chicken coops, until Junior's arrival scares them off.

## Themes in this chapter

### Community and Neighborliness

Mr. Jones warns about a dangerous family, highlighting the complex dynamics of rural neighbor relations.

### Moral Education and Discipline

The narrator forbids his children from associating with the neighbor children and punishes disobedience with bread and water.

### Economic Transformation

The family ships their first fruit crop to market, marking a shift from capital drain to potential income.

## Character check-ins

### Merton

Guards the fruit and confronts the berry thieves, fighting the eldest boy and calling for Junior's help.

### Winnie

Had met the objectionable neighbor children while rambling for strawberries, bringing them to the house.

### Bobsey

Also met the neighbor children; later called the family 'p'oducers' upon the first fruit shipment.

### Mr. Jones

Warns the narrator about the dangerous neighbor family, advising to give them a wide berth.

### Junior

John Jones's son; his arrival scares off the thieves and he restrains Merton from further pursuit.

### Mousie

Her flowerbed is trampled by the fleeing thieves.

## Key lines

> Mr. Durham, steer clear of those people. You know there are certain varmints on a farm to which we give a wide berth and kill ’em when we can.

Mr. Jones advises the narrator to avoid the dangerous family entirely, comparing them to pests that must be eliminated if possible.

_Illustrates the community's fear and pragmatic approach to the outlaw family._

> We are ‘p’oducers,’ at last, as Bobsey said

The narrator joyfully declares that they have finally become producers, using Bobsey's mispronunciation.

_Highlights the family's pride in their first fruit shipment._

> Merton and Junior, who for a few moments had lost sight of the invaders in the thick raspberry bushes, were now in hot pursuit, and would have caught them again, had they not seen a man coming up the lane, accompanied by a big dog.

Merton and Junior chase the thieves but stop when they see a man with a dog approaching.

_Shows the tension and the need for caution in confronting the dangerous family._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se/chapters/xxxii-cherries-berries-and-berry-thieves
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se/chapters