They had to work. By the time Sarah was five years old, she was picking cotton in the fields with her family.

VOA: special.2010.03.28

And when he goes picking in the cotton fields, he imagines that he could be a slave.

当他去采棉花的时候，他把自己想象成一个奴隶。

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选