CIE's A/S Level Stories of Ourselves - memorable quotations - Part 2

6. Five Memorable Quotations with Imagery in Billennium (J.G. Ballard) and Their Connotations

1. "The cubicle was nine feet by ten, a thousand cubic feet of air enclosed by thin plywood walls, pressed up against the next unit like a cell in a beehive."
   • Imagery: The cramped, suffocating nature of the cubicle is emphasized by its dimensions and the simile comparing it to a beehive.
   • Connotations: The comparison to a beehive suggests overcrowding, uniformity, and a loss of individuality. The word "cell" reinforces the theme of entrapment, making the living conditions seem more like a prison than a home.
2. "The city was a nightmare of corridors."
   • Imagery: The description of the city as a labyrinth of endless passageways creates a claustrophobic, disorienting atmosphere.
   • Connotations: This phrase suggests a loss of freedom and identity, as if people are trapped in a never-ending maze. The word "nightmare" conveys a sense of hopelessness and psychological distress, reinforcing the story's dystopian tone.
3. "The streets seethed with people, a shifting tide of jostling bodies that pressed in from all sides."
   • Imagery: The crowd is compared to a restless sea, overwhelming and inescapable.
   • Connotations: This image of constant motion and lack of space reflects the dehumanizing effects of overpopulation. The tide-like movement suggests that individuals have no control over their own actions, further reinforcing helplessness and lack of agency.
4. "Even the sunlight seemed exhausted, filtering weakly through the grime-streaked windows."
   • Imagery: The weak, dirty sunlight symbolizes a decaying, polluted environment.
   • Connotations: The lack of natural light suggests a world that is dying, drained of energy and vitality. It reflects the emotional and physical exhaustion of the characters, making the setting feel oppressive and lifeless.
5. "For a few days, they had lived like kings, wallowing in all that space."
   • Imagery: The description of wallowing in space—a basic necessity—ironically highlights how deprived they were.
   • Connotations: The idea that having a slightly larger room makes them feel like 'kings' exposes how extreme overcrowding has altered their perception of normality. This irony underscores the dehumanizing effects of overpopulation, where personal space becomes an unattainable luxury.

These quotations emphasize Billennium's key themes of overpopulation, loss of individuality, and the psychological toll of urban confinement.

7. 

Five Memorable Quotations with Imagery in The People Before (Maurice Shadbolt) and Their Connotations

1. "It was the kind of land that had never known a plough, untouched by the years and yet shaped by them."
   • Imagery: The contrast between 'untouched by the years' and 'shaped by them' gives the land a timeless, almost mystical quality.
   • Connotations: This description highlights the deep connection between the land and its history, particularly in relation to the Māori people who lived there before. The phrase also suggests a tension between preservation and change, which becomes central to the story's conflict.
2. "The hills rose like dark shoulders against the sky, brooding and eternal."
   • Imagery: The hills are personified as 'brooding,' suggesting they are watching and remembering.
   • Connotations: This reinforces the idea of the land as a witness to history, symbolizing the past that cannot be erased. The word 'eternal' implies that no matter what changes occur, the land will endure, contrasting with the fleeting nature of human ownership and conflict.
3. "It was as though the land itself resented us, sulked and withdrew."
   • Imagery: The land is personified, reacting emotionally to human intervention.
   • Connotations: This suggests a spiritual or cultural violation, as if the land is rejecting its new occupants. The phrase reflects the theme of displacement and colonial tension, emphasizing the idea that the land does not truly belong to those who claim it.
4. "The trees had stood for centuries, their roots deep in a past we would never know."
   • Imagery: The ancient trees symbolize a deep, unbroken connection to history.
   • Connotations: This suggests that the land has a memory that predates its new owners, reinforcing the story's central conflict over cultural heritage and identity. The phrase 'a past we would never know' implies ignorance and disconnect, highlighting the gap between the Māori past and the European present.
5. "The river coiled through the valley, a silver ribbon in the afternoon light."
   • Imagery: The river is depicted as something both beautiful and alive, winding through the landscape.
   • Connotations: The river's fluidity contrasts with the fixed nature of human ownership—it cannot be controlled or possessed in the same way that land can. This reinforces the idea that nature, history, and identity are in constant motion, despite human attempts to claim and define them.

These quotations highlight The People Before's key themes of colonialism, land ownership, cultural memory, and the tension between past and present.

8. 

Five Memorable Quotations with Imagery in Five-Twenty (Patrick White) and Their Connotations

1. "The car came lurching down the street, squat and dogged, like an old, diseased animal."
   • Imagery: The car is described as 'squat and dogged,' likening it to an old, struggling creature.
   • Connotations: This suggests decay, exhaustion, and inevitability, much like the declining lives of Ella and Royal. The simile comparing the car to a 'diseased animal' foreshadows Royal's deteriorating conditionand the broader theme of aging and decline.
2. "The twilight fell like bruises against the houses."
   • Imagery: The metaphor of twilight 'falling like bruises' paints the evening sky in painful, dark tones.
   • Connotations: The image of 'bruises' suggests damage, suffering, and inevitability, mirroring Ella's own psychological bruising from her unfulfilled life. Twilight also symbolizes the passage of time and the nearing of life's end, reinforcing the story's themes of aging and regret.
3. "The walls of the house had begun to curl and flake like an old scab."
   • Imagery: The house is described in decaying, organic terms, making it seem almost diseased.
   • Connotations: The comparison to a 'scab' suggests wounds, neglect, and the passage of time, reinforcing the idea that Ella and Royal's home, much like their marriage and dreams, is deteriorating beyond repair.
4. "The sunlight caught in her hair, like a sudden flare of fire before it went out."
   • Imagery: The sunlight illuminating Ella's hair momentarily gives her a fleeting moment of warmth and radiance.
   • Connotations: The 'flare of fire' suggests a brief moment of life, passion, or hope, but the fact that it 'went out' immediately afterward emphasizes the inevitability of loss and decline. This could also foreshadow her realization of Royal's fate and the finality of her circumstances.
5. "And the man in the car, with the face of a pitted stone, drove past for the last time."
   • Imagery: The 'pitted stone' face makes the driver appear lifeless, weathered, and unchangeable.
   • Connotations: This reinforces the inevitability of fate and death, as the driver becomes a symbol of time's relentless march. The phrase 'for the last time' brings a sense of finality, indicating that change—though long resisted—has finally arrived, completing Ella's arc of realization.

These quotations emphasize Five-Twenty's key themes of aging, inevitability, decay, and unfulfilled dreams.

9. 

Five Memorable Quotations with Imagery in Report on the Threatened City (Doris Lessing) and Their Connotations

1. "The city lay spread below us, a glittering mosaic of lights, its towers piercing the night sky like needles."
   • Imagery: The city is depicted as a dazzling but fragile construction, with 'glittering' lights and towers resembling 'needles.'
   • Connotations: The artificial brightness of the city suggests a false sense of security, while the sharp, needle-like towers hint at both technological progress and potential destruction. The city's vulnerability to the coming catastrophe is subtly implied.
2. "The streets flowed with people, moving ceaselessly, unaware of the danger that loomed over them."
   • Imagery: The crowd is described as a 'flow,' evoking a sense of unstoppable motion and routine existence.
   • Connotations: The fluid movement suggests a lack of awareness or control, emphasizing the ignorance of the population to the impending disaster. The phrase 'loomed over them' reinforces the idea that an unseen but inevitable catastrophe is near, yet people remain oblivious.
3. "From above, the vehicles were tiny, glowing insects, swarming in rigid patterns along the black ribbons of roads."
   • Imagery: Cars are compared to insects moving in structured lines along dark roads.
   • Connotations: The comparison to insects dehumanizes the people, suggesting they are trapped in mechanical, mindless routines. The 'black ribbons' of roads emphasize the restrictive and artificial nature of their environment, reinforcing themes of societal control and blind conformity.
4. "The sky was bruised with unnatural light, a flickering that pulsed like a dying heart."
   • Imagery: The sky is described as 'bruised,' giving it a wounded, unnatural appearance.
   • Connotations: The 'dying heart' suggests impending collapse, mirroring the city's impending doom. The 'unnatural light' hints at technological excess or human interference, possibly referencing environmental damage, war, or unchecked scientific advancement.
5. "Their faces were blank masks, unreadable, as if the truth could never reach them."
   • Imagery: The people's expressions are described as 'blank masks,' suggesting a lack of awareness or emotion.
   • Connotations: The mask-like faces symbolize denial, ignorance, or emotional detachment, reinforcing the theme of human resistance to truth and change. The phrase 'as if the truth could never reach them'suggests inevitable self-destruction due to willful ignorance.

These quotations highlight Report on the Threatened City's key themes of ignorance, impending disaster, societal blindness, and the failure to recognize warning signs.

10. 

Five Memorable Quotations with Imagery in Games at Twilight (Anita Desai) and Their Connotations

1. "The garden was like a tray made of beaten brass, dented and misshapen, but laying all golden."
   • Imagery: The garden is compared to a brass tray, evoking an image of warmth and richness but also imperfection.
   • Connotations: The golden hue suggests beauty and vibrancy, but the 'dented and misshapen' aspect implies that it is not as idyllic as it seems, hinting at the harsh realities beneath childhood play. This could also foreshadow Ravi's eventual realization of his insignificance.
2. "The bougainvillea hung about it, purple and magenta, in livid balloons."
   • Imagery: The bright colours and the comparison to 'livid balloons' make the flowers seem almost swollen or unnatural.
   • Connotations: The word 'livid' can mean both vibrant and bruised, which creates an uneasy contrast between beauty and violence. This could reflect the contrast between the innocence of childhood and the emotional turmoil Ravi experiences.
3. "The shed smelt of mice, sweat, and pigeon droppings."
   • Imagery: The description of smell-based details makes the shed feel claustrophobic and unpleasant.
   • Connotations: The mix of decay and confinement reinforces the sense of entrapment that Ravi feels while hiding. This foreshadows the emotional isolation he later experiences when he is forgotten.
4. "The sun had gone down, leaving the sky streaked with orange and red, like a ragged banner."
   • Imagery: The sky is described with vivid, violent colours and likened to a torn flag.
   • Connotations: The ragged banner suggests defeat or surrender, mirroring Ravi's crushing realization of his insignificance. The sunset also signals the end of the game, the end of the day, and the end of Ravi's innocent perspective on life.
5. "He felt his heart go heavy and ache inside him in silence. He had never known this before."
   • Imagery: The physical weight of Ravi's emotions is emphasized, making his sadness feel tangible.
   • Connotations: This marks Ravi's first true experience of disillusionment and existential loneliness. His 'silence' shows that this realization is deeply personal and internal, a moment of profound growth that no one else acknowledges.

These quotations highlight Games at Twilight's key themes of childhood innocence, disillusionment, isolation, and the painful realization of insignificance.