How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The newspaper that morning had been filled with the usual headlines, several of them devoted to what was commonly called the Emergency: Things had gotten desperately out of control, the headlines reported; the school systems, the budget, the pollution, the crime, the weather […] why, everything, in fact was a complete mess […]. (1.4)
Wait a second. Did you say the school systems, the budget, the pollution, the crime, and the weather? Because we think we read all of those stories in our news feed this morning. And yet this book was published back in 2007. What do you make of the fact that all of these topics are still making daily headlines? Is Trent Lee Stewart psychic?
Quote #2
"Things must change NOW!" was the slogan plastered on billboards all over the city (it was a very old slogan), and although Reynie rarely watched television, he knew the Emergency was the main subject of the news programs every day, as it had been for years. (1.4)
Did you get that? The whole "change NOW" business is a very old slogan, which means people have been demanding change for a long time. So does that mean that the change people have wanted to see has never come, or does it mean that no matter what happens, people want something different?
Either way, it's key that the demand for change has been present for a long time. Why? Because eventually we learn that this unrest is all part of Mr. Curtain's plan. He's created this Emergency, this state of dissatisfaction and fear, so that he can come along and soothe everyone with his messages of contentment and make them all revere him. Talk about sinister.
Quote #3
"Several years ago," Mr. Benedict said, "in the course of my research on the human brain, it came to my attention that messages were being delivered to people all across the world—delivered, I should say, quite without their knowledge."(5.89)
It sounds all creepy and sci-fi and like something that couldn't happen here, but this is actually happening all the time. Our brains are capable of taking in tons of information, and plenty of people have learned how to use basic psychology to influence how the things we see and hear (and smell and feel and taste) affect our decision making. A simple example? The way products are displayed in the grocery store. And a few more complex examples? Sure, we've got those, too.