A Single Stone Quote Bank 1 - Individuals in Society.docx

A Single Stone Quote Bank: The Individual and Society Situation within narrative Quote Technique(s) Analysis Ch 1 Jena discovers the bones of a fallen tunneller in the mountain. “She would not feel around for the shape of the girl, for the coil of rope, its neatly sliced ends.” (p.13) “Her fi...

A Single Stone Quote Bank: The Individual and Society Situation within narrative Quote Technique(s) Analysis Ch 1 Jena discovers the bones of a fallen tunneller in the mountain. “She would not feel around for the shape of the girl, for the coil of rope, its neatly sliced ends.” (p.13) “Her fingers curled about them as if they were a treasure, something she might keep- or take back to the village and sink in the graveyard beside her many sisters.” (p. 15) Imagery and symbolism- the rope as a symbol of connection to the group Simile- “as if they were a treasure” Familial imagery Burial imagery Reverential tone The ‘neatly sliced’ ends of the rope indicate that the girl was deliberately cut loose by her fellow tunnellers when she became stuck. She was sacrificed so that The Line could survive. The tunnellers perform a very dangerous role in society and often die in doing their duty. They are expected to make extreme sacrifices for the good of the group. The simile and familial imagery convey Jena’s sense of connection to and reverence for the tunnellers that have gone before her. Burial imagery further suggests that death and danger are unavoidable parts of the work. Ch 1 The Mothers distribute mica to the villagers based on the roles they perform in society. “Mother Berta would make her spidery notes in the ledgers, thin fingers running down one column after another. This much for a baker, that much for a carpenter; two scoops for this family, one for the next. To each according to their service- and their worth.” (p.15) Dash Diction- ‘worth’ Epithet- ‘Mother’ Dash adds a sense of finality and foreboding to the decisions made by The Mothers. Diction of ‘worth’ is objectifying and suggests that the value of individuals is dictated by the role they perform in the society. Communist/collectivist mindset. The epithet of ‘Mother’ carries religious overtones and suggests a position of authority and care for the village. The world of the novel is a matriarchal hierarchy with The Mothers at the top. Ch 2 Description of the rope used to bind The Line “When they were tunnelling, it bound the line together, but once the knots were undone, it slipped easily away.” (p.27) Symbolism of the rope tying the tunnellers together Diction- ‘bound’ The tunnellers are symbolically bound to each other, conveying their sense of duty to others as their role is essential to the survival of the village and their families. Diction of bound also suggests confinement as well as connection. Ch 2 Description of adjustments “It didn’t matter whether you had been born into your smallness or helped along by the knife, by the careful breaking and compression of your bones. It mattered only that you could get the work done.” (p.30) Imagery of mutilation Imagery of mutilation conveys the brutality that the tunnellers must endure. The tunnellers are expected not just to risk their lives but go through barbaric adjustments to perform their role. They sacrifice bodily autonomy for the sake of the society. Ch 5 A crowd gathers for the birth of Ailin “The crowd fell silent. It was as if the village shared a single breath. Held it, waiting.” (p.53) Simile The crowd is represented as a single entity as the villagers are unified by their common interest in the birth of a new child. Ailin doesn’t truly belong to her family, but to the whole village. Ch 6 Jena’s family and complicated past “When she had given the last of the pouches to Berta, the Mother fixed her with a look. ‘The rest can wait, child. Go and be with your sister.” Your sister. There was no hesitation in Berta’s words. It was so easy, Jena thought, for others to smooth over her past, to add her cleanly to another family as if her own had never existed.” (p.60) Metaphor- ‘smoothing over the past’ Tone of resistance/resentment Jena feels disconnection from Kari’s family and her loyalties are conflicted by her connection to her old family. Jena’s thoughts indicate some resistance or resentment towards the Mothers and the village. Ch 7 Motif of the sky birds introduced when the village eats three birds in celebration of Ailin’s birth. “Jena watched as the soft slices of flesh fell away from the bone…When one fell from the sky the others would scatter for a moment, circling, and then resume formation, taking up the empty space as if it had never been there… there was nothing those that remained could do but observe the loss, fly on.” (p.70) Metaphor/motif The metaphor of birds represents how the individual is not valued by the society. Those who fall are easily replaced. The individuals themselves are seen as expendable and their sacrifices are what sustain the village. Ch 7 The role of the mothers “It was the heaviest of responsibilities they bore- for allocations, for the harvest, for everything on which the survival of the village rested. A Mother must be close to the mountain so it might speak through her.” (p.74) Epithet- ‘Mother’ Personification of the mountain The Mothers role imitates that of a mother in a family (Epithet)- they rear the young, control and allocate resources. ‘Mother’ also implies a spiritual/religious role, further indicated by the personification of the mountain. The mountain ‘speaking through’ the Mothers suggests the power over information that they possess. The Mothers are clearly viewed as almost divine figures, giving them even greater control over the village. Ch 8 Jena reflects on the nature of ‘we’ in response to Papa Dietz “We. It was the slipperiest of words. Was it the family he meant, or the village? For most of the year they were nearly the same thing, everyone pulling together, making things work. But when the snow came, the world narrowed to four walls and a roof, to a ‘we’ that spoke only of those within arm’s reach.” (p.84) Italicisation and truncated sentence for emphasis of ‘we’ Diction- slipperiest Rhetorical question Metaphor- “the world narrowed to four walls and a roof” The diction of ‘slipperiest’ and rhetorical question emphasises the ambiguous nature of community. Where does our duty to others begin and end? The cooperative nature of the village imitates that of a family, yet this family-like sense of community only goes so far. The metaphor of the world narrowing to four walls and a roof indicates how ultimately loyalty/duty extends only to the family home and not beyond. The community of the village is in many senses artificial, based solely on need. It is cooperative but also competitive, as families and individuals fight to survive. Ch 10 Jena visits her mother’s grave and reflects on her suspicions that the Mothers are intentionally inducing premature births “She had seen how this worked, how it began with one frayed corner, a single loose thread. It seemed harmless at first, because it was just this one small strand, so you tugged it a little and before long you were pulling and pulling, unstitching the very fabric of things.” (p.104-105) “A baby had died and Min’s first thought had been for how small it was. Jena’s had been for whether it was a daughter. Neither of those things mattered, but they were all that seemed to. How much more would they matter to the Mothers? More than the life of a mama? More than the life of a child?” (p.106) Extended metaphor of unravelling thread Rhetorical questions and anaphora Metaphor of unravelling thread indicates how Jena is beginning to unravel the ideology that she has been taught her whole life. She is beginning to question ‘the very fabric’ of life in the village and resisting the control that the Mothers have over her. The rhetorical questions and anaphora ‘more than the life’ emphasise Jena’s horror at the Mothers’ carelessness with human life. The desire to survive has led the Mothers to develop a utilitarian morality, viewing individual lives as expendable in the name of the greater good. Jena is now challenging this mindset, acknowledging the innate value of human life. Ch 16 Bird motif revisited- Jena and Luka’s decision to save the bird rather than feed the village “She raised the bird aloft- Head height and then beyond, as high as she could manage. Then released. It began as a kind of staggering motion, as if the bird were trying to grasp something, scrambling for an invisible handhold. Jena held her breath, hoping, willing it on. And then the wind flared beneath it, and it seemed to mount the air, lifting up and up. It reached the canopy and Jena thought oh, for the branches were thick with leaves and there was no way through. But as she thought this, the bird gave a flick of its tail and pushed higher and she saw there was a space- were spaces- after all.” (p.166) Symbolism This moment represents a moral shift for Jena. Jena and Luka symbolically choose to save the life of the bird over feeding the village, breaking the cycle of sacrifice and consumption. They make a decision that logically doesn’t make sense in a survival context but is the moral thing to do. The bird is thus a symbol of individual freedom and comes to represent the possibility of escape. Note that the bird’s journey through the spaces in the canopy imitates Jena’s own journey through the mountain later in the book. Ch 17 Jena and Kari have a conversation. Kari tells Jena that she is thickening and won’t be tunnelling anymore. Jena tries to unwrap Ailin and almost tells Kari of her thoughts about the Mothers. When Kari rejects her, she recalls the image of the bird. “Do you ever think… that things could be different? That maybe there’s another way?” (p. 178) “When she closed her eyes all she could see was its upwards spiral as it beat higher and higher, disappearing finally through that impossible hole.” (p. 180) Rhetorical questions Symbolism Visual imagery The rhetorical questions indicate Jena’s resistance and questioning of the status quo. This is the first time she has expressed her thoughts to someone besides Luka. The birds flight symbolises the possibility of escape, which Jena longs for. This indicates her complete opposition to the tenants of the village as she is now determined to find ‘another way.’ Ch 19 The death of the bird. This event triggers Jena to steal the ledgers and ultimately run towards the mountain. “The birds head lolled from his hands, seeming to fix Jena with one unblinking eye… ‘We tried,” Luka said. “It was just too weak.” He was right but it was no consolation at all.” (p.200) Imagery of death Symbolism The death of the bird symbolically reinforces the brutality that has become the norm in the village. Qu: it is never discussed in the book, but how does this village deal with ‘the weak’? What happens to the elderly, the injured or diseased, or those who are born with physical disabilities and cannot perform a role in the village? Ch 20 Jena runs to the mountain “A fork before her- the wide, looping way that wound back to the village; the narrowing track that led on to the mountain. This moment. To choose.” (p.212) Symbolism of the fork in the road and truncated sentences The symbolism of the fork in the road represents Jena’s choice- to go back to the familiarity of the village despite knowing what she knows or to forge her own path and enter the unknown. This is the point of no return. Ch 29 Berta’s death after throwing herself on the burning mica “Berta had not asked for forgiveness, said she knew she could not expect it. Her sunken eyes pleaded silently with Jena; She wished only for her to understand. That they had meant no harm, that their thoughts had been only for the line, for the survival of the village.” (p.263) Tricolon Imagery Tricolon reinforces the Mothers’ utilitarian morality- the ends justify the means. Visual imagery of Berta’s pleading eyes indicates her sense of guilt- it seems the Mothers deep down knew what they were doing was immoral, but fear and the desire to survive drove them to commit unspeakable acts. Ch 29 The aftermath of the mica burning “They had salvaged what little remained of the mica, repacking it into bags and taking up the ledgers anew. For those who remained faithful, there might yet be an allocation. Jena scanned the faces of the villagers clustered about the Mothers; worry and fear were etched deep upon them… for some, the convictions of a lifetime were not so easily shed. Despite everything, this was something that Jena understood.” (p.264) Diction- ‘faithful’ Imagery- ‘worry and fear were etched deep upon them’ Diction of faithful raises connotations of religious faith- the Mothers are still trying to exert their control over the villagers through fear and the lingering power of tradition. The imagery of worry and fear on the faces of the villagers gives us insight into what has likely allowed the village and its traditions to continue for so long. They have been bound together by fear. Ch 30 Bird motif revisited when Jena, Lia and Luka emerge in the world beyond “And beyond Lia, in the distance, something else was moving. Out in the blue, a bird freewheeled, buoyed from beneath by an invisible updraft- no fear in it, no haste, wings spread, open to the sky” (p.271) Symbolism Visual imagery The bird motif returns as the final image of the novel, representing Jena’s freedom from fear and confinement. It is also a symbol of hope for the future.