The Diamond Of Darkhold

“Ember was a dark place, it was true. But in the daytime, huge lamps lit the streets, and at night—at least until nine o’clock, when the city’s electricity was switched off—the houses were cozy and bright inside.”

In this descriptive passage from Lina’s third-person limited viewpoint, her tone and word choice (“cozy,” “bright”) indirectly reveal her wistful longing for Ember. Lina was instrumental in leading everyone from Ember out of the dying city; now, she often feels worried or scared about the dangers of the open world. Lina recognizes that Ember has no lights anymore; missing it anyway introduces Lina’s internal conflict: She feels sadness having left Ember behind and yearns for the safe comforts that made it a home.

“‘Second thing is,’ the roamer was saying, jabbing a finger at the sky, ‘a new star is up there. It moves, is the odd thing about it. I’ve seen it myself.’”

The roamer’s arrival is a highly anticipated event in Sparks; roamers symbolize connection—even when their comments are vague or unsettling—because they are the only souls who venture from settlement to settlement. Though the roamer has little merchandise of value for the people of Sparks, she is important because she shares news of wolves and the moving star. Her description of the “new” star is significant as a plant for a plot detail that will evolve and return until its mystery is solved (it is an unmanned spacecraft from a distant planet).

“Here in Sparks, Edward had put himself in charge of the huge disorderly pile of books that had accumulated over the years in the back room of the Ark. Little by little, with Doon’s help, he was putting these books in order so that people could actually find them and read them.”

Books are a motif in the novel; they symbolize knowledge and curiosity. Though many in Sparks, including those from Ember, are more concerned with survival than reading, Edward represents the importance of literacy and research as well as open-mindedness.