The City of Ember

by

Jeanne DuPrau

Mayor Cole Character Analysis

Ember’s mayor. He’s a massive, gray-faced man whose eyes seem to look out on people from tunnels. Lina appears to dislike him from the beginning, an assessment that Clary later confirms is appropriate—Clary says that when the mayor first took office he was foolish, but Lina discovers that in the novel’s present, Mayor Cole is corrupt and dangerous. When he speaks to Lina’s class, he talks a lot about how it’s necessary for everyone in Ember to do their job and do it well, but he does the exact opposite. Lina and Doon discover that Mayor Cole is gorging himself on rare delicacies found in distant storerooms and hoarding light bulbs, while doing nothing about Ember’s frequent blackouts and dwindling stores of food and supplies. He also espouses conformity and believes that people should accept what they’re told without question—curiosity, in his mind, is evil and dangerous. In a sense he’s right, as Lina’s curiosity alerts her to Mayor Cole’s corruption in the first place. Through Clary and Lina’s assessments of him, the novel suggests that Mayor Cole may be undeniably evil and selfish, but he’s also someone deserving of pity—it’s sad, the book suggests, to want so much for oneself at the expense of everyone else.

Mayor Cole Quotes in The City of Ember

The The City of Ember quotes below are all either spoken by Mayor Cole or refer to Mayor Cole. 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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

Maybe she should show it to the mayor. She didn’t trust him, either. But if this document was important to the future of the city, he was the one who should know about it.

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

He found another supply closet at the far south end of the Pipeworks—at least, he assumed that’s what it was. It was at the end of a tunnel with a rope strung across it; a sign hanging from the rope said, “Caved In. No Entry.” Doon entered anyway, ducking under the rope. He found no sign of a cave-in, but there were no lights.

Related Characters: Doon Harrow, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

And if the cans hadn’t come from a market, where had they come from? There was only one answer: they had come from the storerooms. Somehow, Lizzie had gotten them because she worked in the storeroom office. Had she paid for them? How much? Or had she taken them without paying?

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole, Looper Windley, Lizzie Bisco
Page Number: 148
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

That’s the solution he keeps telling us about. It’s a solution for him, not the rest of us. He gets everything he needs, and we get the leftovers! He doesn’t care about the city. All he cares about is his fat stomach!”

Related Characters: Doon Harrow (speaker), Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 158-59
Explanation and Analysis:

“If this were an ordinary situation, the mayor would be the one to tell.”

“But the mayor is the one committing the crime,” said Doon.

“So then we should tell the guards, I guess,” said Lina. “They’re next in authority next to the mayor. Though I don’t like them much, [...] Especially the chief guard.”

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet (speaker), Doon Harrow (speaker), Mayor Cole, Redge Stabmark
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It’s not just outside, it’s inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It’s like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets.”

Related Characters: Clary Laine (speaker), Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Related Symbols: Colored Pencils
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

What was he thinking? If he still had light bulbs when everyone else in Ember had run out, would he enjoy sitting in his lit room while the rest of the city drowned in darkness? And when the power finally ran out for good, all his light bulbs would be useless. Possessions couldn’t save him—how could he have forgotten that?

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet (speaker), Mayor Cole
Page Number: 178-79
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mayor Cole Quotes in The City of Ember

The The City of Ember quotes below are all either spoken by Mayor Cole or refer to Mayor Cole. 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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

Maybe she should show it to the mayor. She didn’t trust him, either. But if this document was important to the future of the city, he was the one who should know about it.

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 107
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

He found another supply closet at the far south end of the Pipeworks—at least, he assumed that’s what it was. It was at the end of a tunnel with a rope strung across it; a sign hanging from the rope said, “Caved In. No Entry.” Doon entered anyway, ducking under the rope. He found no sign of a cave-in, but there were no lights.

Related Characters: Doon Harrow, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

And if the cans hadn’t come from a market, where had they come from? There was only one answer: they had come from the storerooms. Somehow, Lizzie had gotten them because she worked in the storeroom office. Had she paid for them? How much? Or had she taken them without paying?

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole, Looper Windley, Lizzie Bisco
Page Number: 148
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

That’s the solution he keeps telling us about. It’s a solution for him, not the rest of us. He gets everything he needs, and we get the leftovers! He doesn’t care about the city. All he cares about is his fat stomach!”

Related Characters: Doon Harrow (speaker), Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Page Number: 158-59
Explanation and Analysis:

“If this were an ordinary situation, the mayor would be the one to tell.”

“But the mayor is the one committing the crime,” said Doon.

“So then we should tell the guards, I guess,” said Lina. “They’re next in authority next to the mayor. Though I don’t like them much, [...] Especially the chief guard.”

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet (speaker), Doon Harrow (speaker), Mayor Cole, Redge Stabmark
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It’s not just outside, it’s inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It’s like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets.”

Related Characters: Clary Laine (speaker), Lina Mayfleet, Mayor Cole
Related Symbols: Colored Pencils
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

What was he thinking? If he still had light bulbs when everyone else in Ember had run out, would he enjoy sitting in his lit room while the rest of the city drowned in darkness? And when the power finally ran out for good, all his light bulbs would be useless. Possessions couldn’t save him—how could he have forgotten that?

Related Characters: Lina Mayfleet (speaker), Mayor Cole
Page Number: 178-79
Explanation and Analysis: