48 pages • 1-hour read
The Diamond Of Darkhold
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Themes
The Legacy and Impact of Ancient Technologies
To the people of Sparks and other settlements, ancient technologies are a mystery from pre-Disaster days. Those from Ember learn that they were privy to a special ancient technology—electricity—as long as the generator worked in their underground city. Throughout the book, the legacy of technologies like lighting, transportation, appliances, and medicine impacts characters’ ideas and choices.
The effects of lighting in the novel show that this technology is the most important to post-Disaster generations. In the novel’s opening chapter, Doon sees how dangerously insufficient candlelight is when his father is injured at night. He knows that brighter, more effective lighting from electricity will help those in Sparks. In the meantime, he intuitively draws on ancient technology to craft his hand-cranked lantern, and he admires the “lightcap” Trogg creates for hands-free maneuverability in Ember’s darkness. The value of the light-giving diamonds left by the Builders is symbolized by their appearance (they look like sparkling jewels) and their association with health and well-being, as they make the salvage mission safe and successful. Most importantly, the availability of light at night increases knowledge and productivity in Sparks, as people can read, work, and move about after sunset.
The ancient technologies of transportation and appliances remain largely mysterious to many. People know that trains moved across the land and airplanes flew in the sky, but the technology that made them work is unavailable after the Disaster. Kenny Parton notes that even his teacher Ms. Buloware cannot explain the fine details of the flush toilet in the lessons on “Appliances of the Ancient World,” though she hopes students might someday recreate electric stoves and washing machines. Later, Doon experiments with the diamonds, guessing that several connected together may indeed power larger appliances.
Synthetic medicine represents a technology that is almost completely out of reach post-Disaster. Doctor Hesper is unable to cure some ailments; three Sparks villagers die of fever over the winter. The Troggs as roamers try to offer cough syrup, so old it is surely useless, as something of value. One of the last things retrieved from Ember by Lina is the tube of “Anti-B” (anti-bacterial ointment) in her old home—that she collects it during her attempt to gather her beloved drawings points to the importance she gives to the mysterious medicine.
The lack of older technology and medicine thus has a direct impact on the present-day community’s quality of life, as they must revert back to a less technologically-advanced form of existence, which brings many hardships to the people of Sparks. However, in gradually recovering old technologies like electricity, the community slowly begins to rebuild civilization and improve their quality of life. This retrieval confirms that old technologies can still provide benefits of lasting value.
The Importance of Cooperation in Problem Solving
All of the villagers—Emberites included—learn valuable lessons about acceptance and getting along in The People of Sparks. The knowledge gained from those lessons contributes to successful ventures based on cooperation in The Diamond of Darkhold. Specifically, the trio of rescuers, the salvage operation, and Lina and Doon’s compatibility exemplify the importance of cooperation in problem solving.
While Lizzie, Torren, and Kenny represent three very different personalities, they engage in cooperation toward a shared end. Each contributes a valuable element of problem-solving to their rescue mission: Kenny, with his sound appraisal of others, points out Lina and Doon’s desire to help others, showing Lizzia and Torren that their theories about the missing pair’s whereabouts are incorrect. Lizzie reasons out that Lina and Doon are in Ember, and having been an Emberite, she valiantly tries to point the way to the city. Torren boosts himself into the air at the crucial moment to make contact with Maggs. Though the rescue mission falls short of finding Lina and Doon, thanks to their cooperative attitudes, these three characters return to Sparks safely and successfully rally the town leaders.
The plan to salvage Ember is a study in cooperation. To solve the problem of Sparks’s food shortage, volunteers plan to descend into Ember to gather the remaining supplies. Small crews are made up of those from both Sparks and Ember, with one Emberite heading each crew, as they are familiar with the city layout. Crews are assigned to various parts of the city. Being particularly knowledgeable about the Pipeworks, Doon takes a team to collect the former mayor’s horde from a hidden room. Halfway through the eight-hour salvage operation, some crews stop collecting and begin carrying the salvaged items up and out of Ember. That the mission is successful within the time limit attests to everyone’s cooperation and helpfulness.
Meanwhile, Lina and Doon’s partnership reaches new heights in this final part of the series. When Lina is hesitant to make the journey to Ember, Doon’s enthusiasm restores her confidence and taste for adventure. Later, when Doon’s spirits drop precariously low after shutting down the generator and destroying the diamond, Lina’s steadiness and concern boost his optimism. Years after their successful quest, Lina and Doon begin a romantic relationship, eventually sharing a home.
Such interpersonal and communal experiences thus exemplify successful problem-solving through cooperation. As the people of Sparks and Ember learn to come together and revitalize their civilization, they ensure a better quality of life and improved chances of survival for everyone.
Self-Sufficiency Through Knowledge of the Natural World
From the opening scenes of The Diamond of Darkhold, it is clear that the people of Ember are still getting used to life on the surface. Some parts of the natural world create challenges for the people of Sparks as well, with the storms, lightning, animals, wind, and winter all creating hardships and dangers. The novel’s events show that understanding the natural world is key to surviving successfully in it; knowledge and respect for nature in turn promote human self-sufficiency.
Kenny Parton’s views on the natural world are a case in point. Not too thrilled with Ms. Buloware’s vague “explanations” of ancient technologies, Kenny is much more interested in the usefulness of nature class. Observing the habits of ants and the growth process of strawberries are far more sensible lessons, in his estimation: His reports on these topics illustrate what humans can learn from nature in terms of growing, living, and working together. Later, Kenny shares his interest in a family of foxes with Doon, which prompts Doon’s memory of the fox that “taught” Lina and him how the purple fruits were safe to eat upon leaving Ember. Kenny’s talent as a naturalist thus demonstrates how being attentive and respectful toward the natural world can help improve one’s knowledge of one’s environment.
The novel also suggests that living in harmony with the natural world is the only way for humans to have a sustainable future. With newfound maturity and courage, Doon shuts down Ember’s generator by disconnecting it from the river, thus causing the Troggs to leave the city and allowing the city to come to a peaceful end. More significantly, Doon’s action shows that he is bravely accepting that the era of the generator—a leftover, ancient machine associated with oil, grease, and manual labor that requires tedious maintenance—must cease in favor of a cleaner and more reliable energy source. Putting to rest both the generator and his old passionate interest in it makes way for Doon’s discovery of the rechargeable diamonds and their uses. Energy from this natural source is, as the Builders noted, “perfectly pure, and for human purposes, infinite” (245).
Finally, the novel offers readers a vision, similar to Lina’s old drawings, of “a city of bright buildings with glittering rooftops—not buildings so high they turned the streets into shadowy canyons, but buildings hardly taller than the trees that grew around them” (281). The inference here conveys society’s use of solar panels on roofs and focuses on green spaces, even in urban environments. This future is possible thanks to renewed attention to the lessons of nature and the advances possible when all humans, like Doon and Kenny, understand and respectfully utilize its gifts.
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