Find the perfect quote to float your boat. Shmoop breaks down key quotations from The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Isolation Quotes
Miss Perumal sighed when she was feeling sad for him, he knew—sad to see him teased by the other children, sad the poor boy had lost his parents—and Reynie wished he hadn't worried her, but he...
Courage Quotes
Just reading the words quickened Reynie's heart. Was he brave? Bravery had never been required of him, so how could he tell? […] Finally he gave up trying to decide and simply wrote, "I hope so."...
Principles Quotes
All he had to do was turn it over and look at the answers. […] Reynie stared a long momentat the paper, sorely tempted.Then he reached out and flicked it from his desk and onto the floor. What go...
Youth Quotes
"I do not simply need a team; I need a team of children." (4.88)
Manipulation Quotes
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 r...
Education Quotes
Although he was only eleven years old, he was quite used to figuring things out for himself. (1.1)
Power Quotes
Private meetings among regular students were the sort of thing strictly frowned upon at the Institute, where all secrets were reserved for Messengers and Executives. (14.20)
Community Quotes
Standing there in the lamplit room, reflecting upon Sticky's life as he slept, Reynie experienced a curious mixture of admiration, affection, and sympathy—curious because although he'd known the...