Isolation Quotes in Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice)

Jack likes to teases Tom about the solitary life of a Spook. But sadly, he's telling the truth. Although Tom and Alice are friends at the end, you could argue that Tom bought her friendship with loyalty—he saved her life. However, isn't that true for all friends?

Tom's Mam has an interesting counterpoint for Tom's loneliness argument. Is loneliness just a state of mind? If you keep yourself busy, can you keep loneliness at bay? If loneliness falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it... Oh, sorry, we got a little distracted for a moment there.

Being the Spook's apprentice sounds a little like being the guy who rides on the back of the garbage truck. Essential, but not exactly a glamorous job. However, these dirty jobs are often the jobs that most need doing.

Silence can be extremely isolating. If you've ever walked into a room and everyone went silent, you know how Tom must feel here. He can be in a room full of people, and still feel alone.

Tom's Mam is right a lot. Here we see how right she was about Tom not feeling lonely when he's working. As soon as Tom has a break from work, the loneliness creeps in, and he wants to go back to his family's farm.

Hm. Maybe loneliness is less about being by yourself and more about itching to get away from yourself, and into the company of other people. What do you do to keep yourself company when you're alone?

Perhaps the only reason Tom trusts Alice right off the bat, even though she's sketchier than the mystery meat in a chicken McNugget, is because he's so lonely and desperate for friends.

Not only do they make enemies, but people are scared of them because they have enemies. Tom and the Spook are viewed as freaks by the townsfolk, and that's extremely isolating for them both.

This line marks the moment when Tom starts to feel isolated in his own home. Even his family, like his kind sister-in-law Ellie, starts to pull away from him. All while he's sitting right next to them.

Tom finds friendship where he least expects it: in Alice. And then he has to leave her behind. This is the last sentence of the book, which drives home just how lonely it is to be a Spook.