How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I have no name. There are no names in the darkness cos there is no one else, only me, and I already know who I am (I am the voice in the dark, calling out for your help), and I have no questions for myself and no need to call upon myself for anything. (1.5)
Man, Shorty knows how to sound scary. It's not just that he's in the darkness (although that is spine-chilling enough), he's also all alone and has no one. His sense of fear and panic is made worse by the fact that he's got no one there to comfort him. If you think about it, that's what makes the dark creepy.
Quote #2
He was born in blood and darkness, and that's how he'll die, the houngan told her. Maybe she was right. Maybe I will die in blood and darkness. Maybe she would be happy if she saw me here. (1.84)
The fact that Shorty is tied up with darkness—even from birth—is a big deal in the book. His mom thinks it means he'll die horribly and worries about it. Not Shorty, though. He doesn't buy the houngan's prophecy. Or maybe he just doesn't want to. After all, it's not good news for Shorty if the guy is right.
Quote #3
Manman stared up at the roof of the church, and she saw that there was a hole in it. Through it, the stars shone out of the blackness, as if to say that darkness is never complete, that there is always hope. (1.112)
Aw. We love to think about Manman hoping for the future in spite of her terrible circumstances. We can't help but wonder, though, whether this is really representative of her life. She might want to see hope through all the muck, but it seems like she's pretty downtrodden most of the time.
Quote #4
It was like her personality went in front of her, bright, like a reverse shadow. You felt the force of her from meters away. (1.183)
Marguerite sounds like a rock star, minus the rock. She shines everywhere she goes, and it's clear that everybody adores her. It's important that Shorty describes Marguerite as a reverse shadow—she doesn't belong in the darkness of their life since she's the opposite of what they experience.
Quote #5
In the darkness I can't tell when I'm dreaming and when I'm just thinking. I hear the dead hand beside me scrabbling, scrabbling at the floor. (3.1)
Boom. That's the sound of our minds being blown. Perhaps Shorty can't tell if he's awake or not because he's not really living. He pretends he has a life that matters, but most of the time we see him just going through the motions. In other words, faking it.
Quote #6
I'm going mad with the darkness and the loneliness. The hand has stopped crawling toward me, making that rustling sound, and I think it was only doing that in my imagination to begin with. There's nobody else here. Just me. (7.17)
Hey, we'd go crazy if we were trapped in darkness for a couple days, too. Why? We need to light to read, think, and see. Shorty knows he's been living in the darkness for a long time, but it's not until he's trapped during the earthquake that he realizes it's the source of his madness and loneliness.
Quote #7
Toussaint dismounted and stepped into the complicated shadow of the tree, lightness and darkness making curlicued patterns at his feet, as if trying to convey something by means of runes that no man could read, not even he. (8.10)
Everyone is always reading the signs and predicting the future in this book, and Toussaint is no different. He, too, thinks about the power and significance of darkness. Even though he admits that he's not exactly sure what the light and dark mean, he knows they mean something important.
Quote #8
No, he would die in darkness and would go on into darkness, too. There would be no reunion, and nothing would be made whole. There would be no Rapture – he had known that before – but now he saw that there would be no return, either. (22.78)
That's one dark way of looking at death. (See what we did there?) As Toussaint prepares to die, he thinks about how death is really just darkness. His perspective certainly helps us understand what Shorty has been going through the entire time. He's surrounded by death no mater where he goes because of the darkness.
Quote #9
Far beyond our walls, far beyond the bounds that hold us, there are people who want to help. There are always people who want to help, but they are too far away, and we are too silent. […] There is no future and no past. We are in the darkness. We are one. (23.5)
By the end, the darkness isn't just enveloping Shorty, it's everywhere. In fact, it's a big part of how Shorty sees the world. He knows people might want to help, but he and his town are still in trouble. This metaphor of light vs. dark becomes a way for us to understand what it's like for Shorty.
Quote #10
I was in darkness, but now I am in light. (24.78)
Pass the cake around—we want to celebrate when Shorty tells us this, mainly because he's finally rescued and we want the best for him. We'll admit that we're not exactly sure what this means. Okay, okay, he's in the light. Forever? Will he change his life around for good? Over to you, Shmoopers.