English quotes Flashcards
class/wealth/power
‘the people of the village have always hated us.’
‘dirty little houses’
‘the Blackwoods have always lived in our house’
‘private no trespassing’
‘the highway is for common people’
‘the people needed the ugliness of the village and fed on it’
‘as if each of them wanted to hide from the others and brining us food was a shameful thing to do in public.’
‘poor strangers, they have so much to be afraid of.’
‘get the safe.’
‘sugar?’
‘our house was a castle, turreted and open to the sky.’
gender/patriarchy
‘but she need not concern us’
‘how are you managing all by yourselves?’
‘we want you and Mary Katherine to come with us until we can decide what to do with you’
‘not important? Connie this things made of gold.’
‘its a good thing Uncle Julian’s gone, or one of us would have to use a broken cup.’
‘I am going to put death in all their food and watch them die.’
‘rings have opening to get out of.’
isolation
‘Merricat I am so happy.’ ‘I told you that you would like it on the moon.’
‘we are on the moon at last.’
‘we are so happy.’
‘I was pretending to not speak their language, on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue.’
‘who wants us outside? the world is full of terrible people.’ ‘I wonder sometimes.’
‘we should have faced the world and tried to live normal lives.’
‘let it burn.’
fantasy/delusion
‘everyone else is my family is dead.’
‘their tongues will burn.’
‘I wished they were dead.’
‘I put it in the sugar.’
‘give your sister your dinner; she would like more to eat.’
‘bow your heads to our adored Mary Katherine.’
‘thank you for bringing me (to the moon).’
change
‘it’s too far.’
‘it was the second time she had spoken of going outside today and I was chilled.’
‘all the omens spoke of change.’
‘safeguards’
‘our wall of safety had cracked.’
‘it was Charles’s fire.’
‘you have the right to be happy and come back into the world.’
rumours/memory/truth
‘Merricat said Connie, would you like a cup of tea…’
‘I shall commence with a slight exaggeration and go on from there into an outright lie.’
‘I don’t listen to their gossip and I hope you don’t either.’
‘sometimes I feel I would give anything to have them all back again.’
‘one of my eyes saw everything golden and yellow and orange… the other saw shades of blue and grey and green.’
relationship/family
‘he was the first one who had ever got inside and Constance had let him.’
‘Merricat was always in disgrace… she. was a wicked and disobedient child.’
a child should be punished for their wrongdoings, but she should be made to feel that she is still loved.’
‘she told the police those people deserved to die.’
food
‘we eat the year away.’
‘any kind of food was precious to Constance… she always touched (it) with quiet respect.’
‘I wonder if I could eat a child.’ ‘I doubt I could cook one.’
‘a poem of the Blackwood women.’
the Blackwood house (symbol)
before the fire: power, status, wealth
the cellar: how the past is treated, you can die from eating old canned goods; the past is dangerous
after the fire: the castle, destruction of patriarchy
the drawing room: symbolic of mother’s legacy, her picture looking down and unbroken Dresden figure
food (symbol)
symbol of love and nurturing, power , becomes the currency of the house, making, providing, anticipating and ingesting food becomes the main activity
after fire: safe remains untouched, whereas the cellar is valued
the crack (symbol)
represents something deeply flawed in the village society, the imagery of the village consistently portrays negative connotations
the safe (symbol)
the sisters disregard it’s value, representing the male Blackwood’s lineage of wealth and social status, desired by Charles
