The Memory Police Quotes Flashcards
“____ who _____ by _________ books ___ by burning ________ men”
“Men who start by burning books end by burning other men”
“ _______ are a lot _______ than you ________ _______. Just like the ________ that _______ them”
“Memories are a lot tougher than you might think. Just like the hearts that hold them.”
“A ______ has no ________, no ______. That’s why you can put _______ any ______ of _______ in it, _____ it can ______ so _____. It’s much like your _______, in that ______.”
“A heart has no shape, no limits. That’s why you can put almost any kind of thing in it, why it can hold so much. It’s much like your memory, in that sense.”
“If you _____ a ______ to the _____, the it’s ______. I would ______ want to do __________ as _______ as that. I’d ______ ________ keep it here with me, _____ and ______, forever.”
“If you read a novel to the end, then it’s over. I would never want to do something as wasteful as that. I’d much rather keep it here with me, safe and sound, forever.”
“____ as ______ got ______, more _____ of ____, our _____ got ____, too, _____ somehow. I suppose that kept things in _______.”
“But as things got thinner, more full of holes, our hearts got thinner, too, diluted somehow. I suppose that kept things in balance.”
“In _______,” he continued, “most things you _______ about _____ up ______ no more than that - just _______.”
“In general,” he continued, “most things you worry about end up being no more than that—just worries.”
“_____ is a great ______. It just ______ on all of it’s _____ ________.”
“Time is a great healer. It just flows on all of its own accord.”
“When you _____ your ______, you _____ the _______ to make sense of ______.”
“When you lost your voice, you lost the ability to make sense of yourself.”
“His _____ is too _____. If he ______ out, he’ll _______ into ______ pieces, like a ______-___ fish pulled to the _____ surface too _____. I suppose my ___ is to go on _______ him here at the ______ of the _____.”
“His soul is too dense. If he comes out, he’ll dissolve into pieces, like a deep-sea fish pulled to the surface too quickly. I suppose my job is to go on holding him here at the bottom of the sea.”
“They may be _____ more than ____ of _____, but they ______ something ______. Light and _____ and ____, the ________ or joy of the ________, the bashfulness or ______ of the _______. You have to ______ these things ____ in your ____. That’s why _______ are taken ____ _____ ______ place.”
“They may be nothing more than scraps of paper, but they capture something profound. Light and wind and air, the tenderness or joy of the photographer, the bashfulness or pleasure of the subject. You have to guard these things forever in your heart. That’s why photographs are taken in the first place.”
“No one can _____ the ______!”
“No one can erase the stories!”
“No _______ how ______ we are, we all _______ ________ little ___ of ourselves as we ____ ______ our _____. _______, sweat, fingernails, _______…any of ______ can be _______. No one can _______.”
“No matter how careful we are, we all leave behind little bits of ourselves as we go about our lives. Hair, sweat, fingernails, tears…any of which can be tested. No one can escape.”
“Maybe _______ a ________ out there _______ people whose _______ aren’t _______ can go on ________.”
“Maybe there’s a place out there where people whose hearts aren’t empty can go on living.”
“Your _______ and _______ are being _______ apart to such _________, distant _______. Yours is _____________ with ________ and life and __________ and smells, _____ mine is ________ _______ and hard at a _________ pace. At some _______ it will ________ into a __________ _______, _______ of ice that will ________.”
“Your heart and mine are being pulled apart to such different, distant places. Yours is overflowing with warmth and life and sounds and smells, but mine is growing cold and hard at a terrifying pace. At some point it will break into a thousand pieces, shards of ice that will dissolve.”
“When the ________ of your _______ ________ to stir, I ________ you want to _______ the _________ in _________.”
“When the surface of your soul begins to stir, I imagine you want to capture the sensation in writing.”
“I ________ to make do with a ________ heart ______ of ________.”
“I have to make do with a hollow heart full of holes.”
“I ________ I could _______ the _______ of my memory ________ that night”
“I thought I could hear the sound of my memory burning that night”
“It seems _______ that you can still _______ something totally ______ like this—just from ______ —on an ______ where ________ else is _________,” he said, brushing a bit of _______ from one of the _______ as though he were ________ something _______.”
“It seems strange that you can still create something totally new like this—just from words—on an island where everything else is disappearing,” he said, brushing a bit of dirt from one of the pages as though he were caressing something precious.”
“My _______ don’t feel like they’ve been ______ up by the _______. Even if they ______, something _______. Like tiny _______ that might ________ again if the ____ falls.”
“My memories don’t feel like they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls.”
