How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"About half an hour after they left that night, Justin said: 'I'm going to try now.' I heard a scuffling noise, a click and a scrape of metal, and in a matter of seconds I saw his door swing open. It was as simple as that—when you could read." (17.51)
Symbol alert! That nasty cage symbolizes captivity. Know what sets Justin free? His ability to read. Tasks that before would have been impossible now seem within reach to the rats.
Quote #5
"By teaching us how to read, they had taught us how to get away." (18.1)
This is pretty ironic, because getting away is exactly what the NIMH scientists do not want the rats to do with their knowledge. Total backfire. In literature, having the ability to read is often associated with freedom, and this is no exception.
Quote #6
"This was a large rectangular room, with walnut paneling, a walnut desk, leather chairs, and walls lined to the ceiling with books. Thousands of books, about every subject you could think of. There were shelves of paperbacks; there were encyclopedias, histories, novels, philosophies, and textbooks of physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and others, more than I can name… Well, we fell on those books with even more appetite than on the food and in the end, we moved into the house and stayed all winter." (18.27)
Have you ever described a room in this much detail? Nicodemus describes the library with love and affection because it contains all the knowledge that they need. Most rats would probably set up shop in the kitchen or chew holes in the books. It's starting to seem like these rats are more human than rat. Hmmmm…