How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Late December, in Bridgwater, Somerset, Western Province, a middle-aged man named Thomas Wharnton, going home from work shortly after midnight, was set upon by youths. These knifed him, stripped him, spitted him, basted him, carved him, served him—all openly and without shame in one of the squares of the town. A hungry crowd clamoured for hunks and slices, kept back—that the King's Peace might not be broken—by munching and dripping greyboys. (3.5.1)
This is one of the subtle moments in the novel that marks the collapse of the repressive police state. Rather than beating and shooting the hungry crowd (as they beat and shot striking workers and protestors not so long ago), here the greyboys are simply keeping the crowd back while they gorge on poor Tommy Wharnton. It won't be long before most of the greyboys themselves will be murdered and eaten all over the country.