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Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The City of Ember, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age
Selfishness, Greed, and Corruption
Family and Community
Censorship
Summary
Analysis
People usually chat about blackouts, but everyone is strangely silent the next day. Lina carries the same message 12 times that the outage lasted seven minutes, and people seem afraid. Lina understands that Doon was telling the truth on Assignment Day, and that Ember is in danger. The following day, notices appear summoning everyone to a meeting the following evening. Lina leaves Granny and Poppy at home when she goes to the meeting. Mayor Cole appears and through a damaged megaphone, speaks unintelligibly. People in the front of the crowd translate for those in the back, but others shout for more information. Mayor Cole’s main point is that no one should panic, as they’re finding solutions.
The nonfunctional megaphone undermines Mayor Cole’s speech, as it suggests that he doesn’t care enough about what’s going on to come up with a way to more effectively communicate with the people of Ember. As Lina’s understanding of the fact that Ember isn’t safe grows, she’s able to identify those people (like Doon) who may have seemed crazy a while ago—but now seem to be telling the truth. In this way, Lina is learning to identify and prioritize people who think critically and speak truthfully.
Themes
People begin to cry out, asking what the solutions are. Lina feels pressure behind her as people push forward, so she tries to get to the back of the crowd. She finally reaches the steps of the school in time to see guards ushering Mayor Cole back inside, away from the rocks and garbage people throw at him.
Here, the fear that people feel about their fate turns into mob mentality—and that turns perfectly normal people into violent ones. Lina’s need to escape, when these people might normally protect her, drives home this fact.
Themes
On the other side of the square, Doon and Doon’s father escape the crowd too and head home the long way. Doon suggests that Mayor Cole is a fool and at least could tell people the truth, but Doon’s father suggests that the mayor is in a tough spot. Doon admits that he’s angry, but his father encourages him to not let his anger take over. Letting anger take over leads to unintended consequences. Doon scowls at the ground and thinks that his father can’t understand, since it seems he doesn’t even have a temper.
What Doon’s father is getting at here is that Doon should be compassionate, even if he does understand that Mayor Cole is lying and doing nothing. This will allow him to think of Mayor Cole as still a member of the community they should all be caring for, rather than turning the mayor into an evil outsider.
Themes
Lina doesn’t think about Mayor Cole’s speech as she races through town, catching snippets of angry, fearful conversation as she goes. She doesn’t want to think about it; she just wants to make dinner and draw with her new colored pencils. When Lina bursts through the door, she trips and falls. The floor is covered in boxes and junk that Granny has thrown out of the closet. Granny announces that “it” will be in the closet as Lina asks where Poppy is. She finds Poppy behind the couch next to an open metal box. Lina inspects the box, which is dented and empty, but seems like it housed something valuable. Lina turns to Poppy and sees that Poppy is chewing and tearing a piece of paper. The paper is covered in perfect printing.
Poppy has clearly been left unsupervised again in a potentially dangerous situation, another indicator that Granny isn’t able to effectively care for her grandchildren anymore. That Lina must come to Poppy’s rescue drives home that Lina is having to take on even more responsibility as Granny declines. Finding this interesting piece of paper will give Lina the opportunity to put her critical thinking skills to the test and demonstrate how she’s come of age thus far.
Themes
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