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The Seed and the Worm
The river that runs through the Pipeworks symbolizes Ember’s dangerous disconnect from the natural world and from the knowledge of how things work. Many people who have seen the river fear it, as its size and power are awe-inspiring and deadly—and yet, though people know that it powers the generator that runs Ember, no one truly understands how exactly this happens. The novel makes it clear that this disconnect and the fear that fuels it have dire consequences, given that the generator is in disrepair since no one knows how it transforms the river into electricity. In this sense, when Lina and Doon discover that the river is actually the way out of Ember—and in this sense, is truly life-giving—they begin to connect with the natural world and, in doing so, discover necessary information about how their world works.
The River Quotes in The City of Ember
The The City of Ember quotes below all refer to the symbol of The River. 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:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
“Can you explain to me about the generator?” he asked. “Can you tell me how it works?”
The old man just sighed. “All I know is, the river makes it go.”
“But how?”
The man shrugged. “Who knows? Our job is just to keep it from breaking down.”
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The City of Ember LitChart as a printable PDF.
The River Symbol Timeline in The City of Ember
The timeline below shows where the symbol The River appears in The City of Ember. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...and sewer pipes. It’s cold and dangerous work, and someone sometimes falls into the underground river and disappears. Lina thinks that anything would’ve been better; being a Pipeworks laborer makes her...
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...his second choice. He wants to see the generator, which mysteriously makes electricity from the river. Lina is thrilled to trade—she doesn’t think being a messenger is useless, and the job...
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Chapter 3
...generator, but when Arlin opens a door marked “Main Tunnel,” he sees that it’s the river. Like many in Ember, Doon has never seen the river and always imagined it looked...
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Doon and Arlin stand on a six-foot wide path that runs parallel to the river. The river runs along the north side of Ember, and all the Pipeworks tunnels branch...
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...the generator. The man says he doesn’t know how it works; he just knows the river makes it run. His job is just to keep it from breaking down.
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Chapter 7
...realizes that it’s probably about something in the Pipeworks that has to do with the river and a door—hopefully, she thinks, a door out of Ember. Lina is thrilled, as she...
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Chapter 8
...another. On days when Doon works closer to the main tunnel, he walks along the river. He avoids the generator and instead spends time at the river’s end. There are rocks...
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Chapter 9
...seem interested. When Doon says nothing, Lina points to the few words she can decipher—Pipeworks, river, and door—and says she thinks they’re instructions to reach another place. Doon is confused about...
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...from Doon. Doon leads her down and Lina is dumbstruck by the sight of the river. He leads her to the appropriate tunnel, assures her they’ll be fine without lights, and...
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Chapter 13
...the second direction must say to find a stone marked with an E by the river’s edge. They think that the next direction says to find a ledge down by the...
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...mind. Just as he’s about to fall asleep, he gets to the rocks by the river that look like they have writing on them.
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Chapter 14
...they’re going won’t be spurting water like the Pipeworks tunnels. Doon leads Lina along the river to where it ends and points out the E on a rock. He then lies...
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...they understand, is something to ride in: the way out of Ember is on the river.
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Chapter 15
...of boats, each equipped with paddles and boxes of candles and matches. Back at the river’s edge, Lina puts the boxes away. Doon puts a candle and some matches in his...
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Lina comes home to Mrs. Murdo’s with the sound of the river in her ears. She feels like she contains the river in her and has a...
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Chapter 16
“The Song of the River” begins. It always makes Lina uneasy but this year, it seems to be urging her...
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Chapter 17
...The lights come back on and Doon wonders if he should still go down the river without Lina. He paces a little and tries to decide if he could lift the...
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...they realize that the ropes are to tie the boat while it sits in the river. Doon finds rods by the water’s edge and as Poppy wails, Doon and Lina tie...
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Chapter 18
The boat streaks into the tunnel, plunging Lina, Doon, and Poppy into complete darkness. The river is rough, so Doon and Lina roll into each other. Lina closes her eyes and...
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