The land is no place for a Gribley.
-- Sam’s father (I Hole Up in a Snowstorm paragraph 23)

Importance: Sam reflects on the past and what brought him to Bitter Mountain. Sam recalls how his father and many others made fun of him for wanting to go and live off the land. Sam’s father, who works on the sea for a living, believes there is no future in the land, and believes the future is elsewhere. He tells Sam this when he says that the land is no place for a Gribley. This becomes a source of motivation for Sam to prove his father wrong.

He laughed. Everybody laughed at me. Even Dad.
-- Sam (I Get Started on this Venture paragraph 15)

Importance: Sam continues to recall the events that led to his desire to seek to live on the land. His decision is met with laughter from everyone in his family, including his father. This demonstrates just how deeply Sam cares for his father, and how deeply his father...