Trond repeatedly worries he will one day be skint, or poor, even though he then says he knows he will not. What might be at the root of this worry? What role does money play in the novel? Use context from the novel to develop your answer.

Evaluate the depictions of and attitudes toward women in the novel. What observations does Trond make, and what does this suggest?

Trond frequently makes note of his father’s interest in mechanics and of the brands of machines that many of his neighbors rely on. In what ways does this fascination with machinery contrast with the old-fashioned methods of doing things that Trond remembers from his youth? What is the significance of this contrast?