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Shrike is a “Resurrected Man,” meaning that he was a soldier who died in a war long ago and was turned into a deadly cyborg. While parts of Shrike, including his brain, are organic, much of him is metal, and he has a deadly blade on his one arm. Before the main events of the novel, Shrike took Hester in after the death of her parents. But when Hester leaves to get revenge on the man who killed her parents (Valentine), Shrike goes ahead of her, voluntarily offering himself as a research subject to Mayor Crome of London for an opportunity to make Hester herself Resurrected. But after undergoing experiments with Crome’s Engineers, Shrike loses his old self and becomes a ruthless hunter, dedicated to fulfilling Crome’s wishes. Shrike symbolizes the dangerous, dehumanizing effects of technology and also embodies the power of obsession to drive a person and warp their perspective.
Shrike Quotes in Mortal Engines
The Mortal Engines quotes below are all either spoken by Shrike or refer to Shrike. 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:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
“Mr Shrike!” says Crome, sounding almost cheery. “How are we today? I hope you were not asleep?”
“I DO NOT SLEEP,” replies a voice from the darkness. It is a horrible voice, sharp as the squeal of rusty cogs.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
“I WORK FOR THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON NOW,” said Shrike. “HE HAS SENT ME TO KILL YOU.”
Tom whimpered again. Hester gave a brittle little laugh. “But ... you won’t do it, will you, Shrike? You wouldn’t kill me?”
“YES,” said Shrike flatly, still staring down at her.
Chapter 13
Quotes
“We don’t stand a chance against Shrike in the air,” she explained. “Hopefully on the ground I can outwit him.”
Chapter 26
Quotes
“I try to be nice,” she said. “Nobody’s ever made me feel they like me before, the way you do. So I try to be kind and smiley, like you want me to be, but then I catch sight of my reflection or I think of him and it all goes wrong and I can only think horrible things and scream at you and try and hurt you. I’m sorry.”
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Get the entire Mortal Engines LitChart as a printable PDF.
Shrike Quotes in Mortal Engines
The Mortal Engines quotes below are all either spoken by Shrike or refer to Shrike. 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:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
“Mr Shrike!” says Crome, sounding almost cheery. “How are we today? I hope you were not asleep?”
“I DO NOT SLEEP,” replies a voice from the darkness. It is a horrible voice, sharp as the squeal of rusty cogs.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
“I WORK FOR THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON NOW,” said Shrike. “HE HAS SENT ME TO KILL YOU.”
Tom whimpered again. Hester gave a brittle little laugh. “But ... you won’t do it, will you, Shrike? You wouldn’t kill me?”
“YES,” said Shrike flatly, still staring down at her.
Chapter 13
Quotes
“We don’t stand a chance against Shrike in the air,” she explained. “Hopefully on the ground I can outwit him.”
Chapter 26
Quotes
“I try to be nice,” she said. “Nobody’s ever made me feel they like me before, the way you do. So I try to be kind and smiley, like you want me to be, but then I catch sight of my reflection or I think of him and it all goes wrong and I can only think horrible things and scream at you and try and hurt you. I’m sorry.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
