The City of Ember Family Quotes

Poor Lina, orphaned when her father died of a sickness that was going around and her mother died giving birth to Poppy—both within a few months of each other. The sad thing is, we get the sense that this sort of thing is pretty typical for families in Ember. Death is a frequent visitor in the city, meaning that many families get split up that way. At least Lina has her sister and her grandmother to love, right?

It's nice that Doon's father is so encouraging, don't you agree? But it also makes Doon feel like he has to pull off something grand to impress his dad. We're not sure how much of that is actual parental pressure and how much is Doon's inflated ego wanting to get recognized and rewarded for his achievements. Still, it's worth noting that a lot of people's ambitions are formed while they're growing up with their family, and Doon is no exception.

On the one hand, it's great when you've got multiple generations living under the same roof: built-in childcare, and all that jazz. But on the other hand, you get situations like this, where the supposedly responsible family members start getting too old to take care of others (or even themselves, in some cases). Lina can't be at home to supervise both Granny and Poppy since she needs to work, so she's in a bit of a pickle until she thinks to ask Mrs. Murdo to look in on them.

We're not saying we believe in karma, but it makes sense for Granny to be the one to help right the wrongs of her grandfather, the dishonest seventh mayor who brought home the box that was supposed to be the salvation of Ember (except no one knew it yet). Lina gets in on the action, too, since she's the main one deciphering the message that Poppy halfway eats.

Losing your family is rough, and so we're glad Lina has Clary to help her cope. In the process, it seems like Clary might've become something of a surrogate family member to Lina—someone she can talk to and spend time with. We all probably have people like that in our lives. You know, people we're not biologically related to, but who are very dear to us and have helped us through tough spots?

Mrs. Murdo gets stuff done, yo. She's the practical sort of mother figure who makes sure everyone's fed and washed. Lina's mother, on the other hand, was maybe not so practical (though Lina doesn't love her any less for it). It doesn't sound like Lina's being judgmental here, but rather being a typical kid who compares the different people she has in her life in terms of how their actions affect her.

Lina's thought process here shows how Mrs. Murdo is becoming a part of her little family, and how Lina herself is taking on a different role. Towards the end of Granny's life, Lina had to step up and take care of Granny more than Granny was taking care of her, but in theory Granny was the one in charge. Now Lina is realizing that she's Poppy's oldest remaining relative, so in a sense, she's completely responsible for what happens to Poppy from now on. Kinda scary, no?

Doon's really motivated to succeed and fix things, in part because he wants his dad to be proud of him. That doesn't work out so well when he and Lina become two of Ember's most wanted criminals for trying to expose the mayor's treachery. This probably isn't going to be a touching moment that makes Ol' Pops proud. How would you feel if you saw a family member's face on a wanted poster? Epic fail.

It must be scary to love someone as much as Lina loves Poppy, and to have to decide whether to leave them in an unsafe situation, or bring them along into an unknown situation, which could potentially be better or worse. But let's face it: what could be worse than starving to death in complete darkness, once the food and light bulbs and electricity all run out?

Our mysterious journal writer is being asked to form an entirely new family when she enters Ember. She'll be matched with a man she doesn't know, and they'll receive two babies to care for and raise. If you think about it, this isn't that strange a situation; people have entered into arranged marriages and hasty marriages for a looong time on this earth. And it's oddly appropriate that the first families to settle in Ember are artificially constructed, much like the city itself. We hope they still manage to form bonds and grow to love and support one another. Otherwise they're in for some very expensive hours on a therapy couch.