The City of Ember: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Lina takes the fastest route home, enjoying the sight of the familiar shops with apartments above. She dashes around piles of unfixable appliances and broken furniture, but she slows on Hafter Street, which has three floodlights that are out. Lina flashes on the rumor that some kinds of light bulbs are completely gone and worries what might happen if all the lights outside went out. She briefly wonders if Doon is right about the state of things, but she reaches a brightly lit street and speeds up again, feeling thankful for Doon.

Years ago, Lina and Doon were good friends. They did everything together until their fourth year of school, when kids would challenge each other to various feats of strength and agility. Lina climbed several feet up a light pole and others tried to follow her lead. When it was Doon’s turn to try, he declared that he was going to climb to the top. He got higher than Lina, but slipped and fell with his legs sticking straight up. Lina and the other kids laughed, but Doon didn’t think it was funny. He shouted at Lina and was scolded by the principal for his temper. After that, Lina and Doon stopped being friends, but Lina wonders if they could rekindle their friendship now. She’d like to ask him about the Pipeworks.

Lina passes the head gardener, Clary, and shouts that she’s a messenger. She finally reaches Granny’s yarn shop, where Granny unwinds unwearable clothing so people can weave, knit, and sew new clothes. The shop is in disarray, as Granny spends most of her time dozing. Lina bursts in and shouts that she’s a messenger. Granny reminds Lina that she’s a student until she remembers that it was Assignment Day. Poppy, Lina’s baby sister, toddles out from behind the counter and gleefully dances with Lina. Lina loves Poppy so much it hurts, as she and Granny are all the family she has. Lina’s father died two years ago of the coughing sickness, while Lina’s mother died giving birth to Poppy. She desperately misses her parents.

Lina takes Poppy upstairs to the apartment. It’s small, but there’s enough stuff in it to fill 20 apartments. The floor is covered with rugs and carpets, while the couch is piled so high with blankets and pillows that no one can sit on it. Tables are cluttered with odds and ends, and hooks on the walls and ceiling hold all manner of clothing. On the walls are pretty things, like a label from a can of peaches and several of Lina’s drawings of an imaginary city that looks like Ember, but is taller and brighter. Lina draws this fictional place often and almost believes it’s real, even though The Book of the City of Ember teaches that the Builders built Ember and it’s the only light in the whole world.

Lina has been to the edge of Ember and looked into the Unknown Regions, which are dark enough to make her believe the book. Nobody has gone into them and returned or arrived from elsewhere, but Lina still thinks about her imaginary city and wishes it were real. In the kitchen, Lina fetches a can of Baby Drink and a jar of boiled carrots for Poppy. She feeds Poppy and assures her that everything will be okay.

The next morning, Lina reports to the messengers’ station and greets the captain, Allis Fleery. Captain Fleery hands Lina her red messenger jacket and reminds Lina of the rules: a messenger must repeat messages back to customers to make sure they’re correct, must always wear their jacket, and must go as fast as possible. They must also only deliver messages to the intended recipient. With a smile, Captain Fleery sends Lina to her station. Lina first carries a message for old Natty Prine. On her way back to her station, Lina passes a group of singing Believers. She’s not sure what they believe in, but whatever it is makes them smile.

Then, Lina carries a message for Mrs. Polster, the teacher of the fourth-year class. Mrs. Polster is a fanatic about teaching children right from wrong. The message reads that Mrs. Polster is disappointed in the recipient after the recipient engaged in “disreputable activities.” Though Lina finds the message perplexing, she cares less about the messages than about the places she gets to see. She learns that the mender sleeps on her couch as her bed is piled high with mending work, while Dr. Tower has a skeleton hanging in her living room. Being a messenger makes Lina feel ready to burst with love for her city.

Late in the afternoon, an odd-looking young man who walks with a lurch flags Lina down. He has a message for Mayor Cole, which says that there’s a delivery at eight from Looper. Lina races to the Gathering Hall, where the mayor has his offices. She approaches the guard’s desk. The guard, Barton Snode, is a big man with a surprisingly tiny head. He leads Lina to the Reception Room to wait for the mayor to return from business in the basement. He seems nervous and Lina wonders if he’s new at his job. Lina looks around the once-impressive room and flips through the open copy of The Book of the City of Ember on the table. She reads that thanks to the Builders, the people of Ember will have enough but no luxuries, and the timekeeper must faithfully wind the clock and post the date in the square.

Not all timekeepers have been as faithful as the book would have one believe; Lina knows of ones who would forget to change the date sign or even wind the clock, resulting in very long days or nights. It’s impossible to know because of this how long it’s been since Ember was built, but Lina thinks it doesn’t matter as long as the lights go on and off on a somewhat reliable schedule. Lina then studies the pictures of all of Ember’s mayors. She doesn’t like the look of the seventh mayor, an ancestor of hers.

Wondering if they forgot her, Lina opens the door and takes the stairs up. She finds the door to the roof and steps to the edge. People notice Lina, so she laughs and dances. It makes people laugh, but a guard named Redge Stabmark grabs Lina. Lina innocently says that she was just curious, but Redge snaps that curiosity leads to trouble. He escorts Lina downstairs, where they find Mayor Cole looking angry and Barton Snode looking flustered. Mayor Cole scolds Lina, but wants to hear her message before deciding whether to put her in the Prison Room. After hearing it, he smiles and sends her away. Doon sees Lina run out of the Gathering Hall. He’s on his way home from his first day at work. Doon is tired, wet, and wants to talk to Lina—but he doesn’t want to answer questions, so he stays silent.