Crow Country

by

Kate Constable

The Crows Character Analysis

The black birds that are a prevalent feature of Boort’s wildlife and speak to Sadie throughout the novel. They are representatives of Waa the Crow—the ancient Aboriginal spirit that reigns over the region of Boort and its surroundings. The crows begin speaking to Sadie at the stone circle and draw her into solving the mystery of Jimmy Raven’s missing sacred objects, or “special things.” Once Sadie solves the mystery, she finds that she can no longer speak with or understand the crows.

The Crows Quotes in Crow Country

The Crow Country quotes below are all either spoken by The Crows or refer to The Crows. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Prejudice and Discrimination Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

But the crow could read the old signs, the old stories. They might be hidden, but they had not vanished. Crow was hidden, too, but he was not gone. Crow was awake. Now it would begin.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle, Boort
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“This is a secret place, a story place.” The crow tilted its head. “Crow’s people came to this place. Now they are gone. The stories are always. Who tells Crow’s stories now? Where are the dreams when the dreamers are gone? Where are the stories when no one remembers?’ […] Country remembers. Crow remembers.”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

Her legs shook; her whole body was racked with shudders. […] She never should have brought Lachie here; she should have protected the secret. Crow’s place.

“Lachie,” she said, with sudden desperation. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone about this place.”

[…] “Okay, mate. It’s your special place, is it? I won’t tell anyone.”

Not my special place, thought Sadie. It belongs to the crows. But she didn’t say it aloud.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard (speaker), Lachie Mortlock (speaker), The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 67-68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Wah!” The crow reared up angrily, wings outstretched, and Sadie shrank back. “Do you have no Law? When a man is killed, the death must be punished. When precious things are stolen they must be returned. Are you an infant? Do you know nothing? Tell the story; tell Crow what you see!”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Jimmy Raven
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“For our people, the land was created long ago, in the time of the Dreaming, when the ancestral spirits moved across the country. They made the hills and the rivers, the swamps and the waterholes. That’s why our spirit ancestors are so important. They make the land, and the land belongs to them, and they make us, too […] round this country, everything belongs to Bunjil the Eaglehawk, or Waa the Crow.”

Related Characters: Walter (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Ellie Hazzard, David, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle, Boort
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“The story goes on, as it always goes on. The Law is broken and there is punishment. The dead cannot live again, but what was taken from the clever man must be returned. When the Law is broken the world is broken. The circle must be joined again.”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Walter, Craig Mortlock, Lachie Mortlock, Jimmy Raven
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

Sadie knew that she was gazing down at ancient campfires, lit by the people of Crow and Eaglehawk, night after night, generation after generation, millennium upon millennium; that the time of electric lights was only a blink in the long dream of this land’s story. The secret magic of this country lay hidden, buried under buildings and blood; but it had never gone away, and it would never disappear.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis:
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Crow Country PDF

The Crows Quotes in Crow Country

The Crow Country quotes below are all either spoken by The Crows or refer to The Crows. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Prejudice and Discrimination Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

But the crow could read the old signs, the old stories. They might be hidden, but they had not vanished. Crow was hidden, too, but he was not gone. Crow was awake. Now it would begin.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle, Boort
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“This is a secret place, a story place.” The crow tilted its head. “Crow’s people came to this place. Now they are gone. The stories are always. Who tells Crow’s stories now? Where are the dreams when the dreamers are gone? Where are the stories when no one remembers?’ […] Country remembers. Crow remembers.”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

Her legs shook; her whole body was racked with shudders. […] She never should have brought Lachie here; she should have protected the secret. Crow’s place.

“Lachie,” she said, with sudden desperation. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone about this place.”

[…] “Okay, mate. It’s your special place, is it? I won’t tell anyone.”

Not my special place, thought Sadie. It belongs to the crows. But she didn’t say it aloud.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard (speaker), Lachie Mortlock (speaker), The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 67-68
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Wah!” The crow reared up angrily, wings outstretched, and Sadie shrank back. “Do you have no Law? When a man is killed, the death must be punished. When precious things are stolen they must be returned. Are you an infant? Do you know nothing? Tell the story; tell Crow what you see!”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Jimmy Raven
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“For our people, the land was created long ago, in the time of the Dreaming, when the ancestral spirits moved across the country. They made the hills and the rivers, the swamps and the waterholes. That’s why our spirit ancestors are so important. They make the land, and the land belongs to them, and they make us, too […] round this country, everything belongs to Bunjil the Eaglehawk, or Waa the Crow.”

Related Characters: Walter (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Ellie Hazzard, David, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle, Boort
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

“The story goes on, as it always goes on. The Law is broken and there is punishment. The dead cannot live again, but what was taken from the clever man must be returned. When the Law is broken the world is broken. The circle must be joined again.”

Related Characters: The Crows (speaker), Sadie Hazzard, Walter, Craig Mortlock, Lachie Mortlock, Jimmy Raven
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 165
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

Sadie knew that she was gazing down at ancient campfires, lit by the people of Crow and Eaglehawk, night after night, generation after generation, millennium upon millennium; that the time of electric lights was only a blink in the long dream of this land’s story. The secret magic of this country lay hidden, buried under buildings and blood; but it had never gone away, and it would never disappear.

Related Characters: Sadie Hazzard, The Crows
Related Symbols: The Stone Circle
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis: