We're not a hurtful people, hereabouts. But we feel naked without our tools. And it makes sense in such a distant place as this, where there is little wealth and all our labors are spent on putting a single meal in front of us each day, to be protective of our modest world and fearful for our skinny lives.
-- Walter Thirsk (chapter 2)

Importance: Thirsk's observation here helps explain why the villagers are so hostile to outsiders and protective of their agricultural way of life. Although they do not have much to their names, what they do have inspires a fierce sense of pride, and an unwillingness to share with anyone who isn't party to the village's social contract. Having so little also creates a constant state of low-grade anxiety among the villagers, who fear that what they have -- and therefore their senses of self -- will be lost.

Besides, to touch a stranger's...
-- Walter Thirsk (chapter 2)