The novel proceeds through various episodes in which the family encounters a problem. In one episode, the family must scrounge up enough money to put the oldest boy, Nels, through high school. While some children may have become insecure or worried about money and where it might come from in a poor family, Mama has the wisdom to create a fictional bank account in order to assuage such concerns. The children always felt secure, even in times of extreme poverty because they thought plenty of money existed for them elsewhere. This kind of deception (of the most positive and virtuous sort possible) is one of the many tactics Mama employs to protect her children from harm and make them happy.