Home > Work > Messenger (The Giver, #3)
21 " It bothered him a little to lie about small things. But he always had; he had grown up lying, and he still found it strange that the people in this place where he now lived thought lying was wrong. To Matty, it was sometimes a way of making things easier, more comfortable, more convenient. "
― Lois Lowry , Messenger (The Giver, #3)
22 " way, he had hoped he would not. His life would "
23 " hurry through the evening’s last light to the homeplace, where the blind "
24 " Our gifts are our weaponry, "
25 " He remembered that in the art books he had leafed through at Leader's, many paintings depicted death. A severed head on a platter. A battle, and the ground strewn with bodies. Swords and spears and fire; and nails being pounded into the tender flesh of a man's hands. Painters had preserved such pain through beauty. "
26 " I am the Fiercest of the Fierce. "
27 " For me? The very first time I saw beyond? It was an apple. "
28 " Some books had shiny pages that showed paintings of landscapes unlike anything Matty had ever seen, or of people costumed in odd ways, or of battles, and there were many quiet painted scenes of a woman holding a newborn child. "
29 " Our gifts are our weaponry "
30 " He wasn’t surprised. After the thorny branches had shredded her dress, they had reached for her legs as night fell, and now he could see that she was terribly lacerated. The wounds were deep, and he could see exposed muscles and tendons glisten yellow and pink in a devastating kind of beauty where the ragged flesh gaped open. "
31 " Matty had felt this sensation—the "
32 " Cooking's a bother. "
33 " In the schoolhouse, Mentor, the schoolteacher, gently tutored a mischievous eight-year-old named Gabe, who had neglected his studies to play and now needed help. "
34 " With her toddler playing on the floor by her feet, his widow now nursed her new baby on the porch of her homeplace, attended by comforting women who sat with their knitting and embroidery and spoke only of happy things. "
35 " Yes, she dyes the threads and then she makes pictures from them. No one else can do it. She has like a magic touch, they say. And they want her for that.” “She would be honored in Village. "
36 " Some of those who had been among the most industrious, the kindest, and the most stalwart citizens of Village now went to the platform and shouted their wish that the border be closed so that 'we' (Matty shuddered at the use of 'we') would not have to share the resources anymore.'We need all the fish for ourselves.Our school is not big enough to teach their children, too; only our own.They can't even speak right.We can't understand them.They have too many needs.We don't want to tale care of them.'And finally: 'We've done it long enough. "
37 " Kira, your leg will take a great deal out of me. I'll have to sleep, after, maybe for a whole day or even longer. And I don't have much time."She looked at him quizzically. "Time for what?""I'll explain. But for now, I think we should start. If I do it right away, I can sleep completely through the night and almost all of the morning. You can use that time to become accustomed to being whole...""I [i]am[/i] whole," she said defiantly. "
38 " There are only three weeks left, Matty. After the border closes it will be too late. She won't be allowed to come. You must bring her here before that happens."If you don't, Matty, I will never see her again.""It always seems strange to me when you say 'see.'"The blind man smiled. "I see in my heart, Matty. "
39 " Is there something wrong with your shoes?” he asked, "
40 " But here in Village, marks and failings were not considered flaws at all. They were valued. "