How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Doon!" cried Lina. "More lights!" She pointed at the sky. He looked up and saw them—hundreds and hundreds of tiny flecks of light, strewn like spilled salt across the blackness. "Oh!" he whispered. There was nothing else to say. The beauty of these lights made his breath stop in his throat. (19.17-18)
Do you remember the first time you ever saw the stars? Probably not, since you were most likely a wee child and became accustomed to them over time. But when Doon and Lina emerge from Ember and behold the night sky with the moon and stars… holy moly, it's powerful and beautiful.
Quote #8
I have a baby on my lap—a girl… Stanley and I have named these children Star and Forest. (20.11-12)
Our mysterious journal writer is going to raise the first generation of Ember's native population from infancy. She knows the rules: they can't bring anything to Ember that is a reminder or memento of the world above. Yet she and her partner decide to name the kids after natural things. What's that about? Are they defying authority? Are they trying to preserve some of the beautiful things of the earth? We never get inside her head to find out why.
Quote #9
But it was hard to picture a city like Ember here in this bright, beautiful place. How could anyone have allowed such a place to be harmed? (20.32)
Lina wonders about the world that the journal writer had left behind, which was supposedly nearing its end and beset by troubles. To Lina, the natural world is so beautiful, she can't understand how its citizens could've let harm come to it. Still, this example shows us how the natural world suffers when the human world does, unfortunately.