It was very bad if the council had resorted to recruiting men. By tradition men were our last line of defence, their physical strength bent towards the single and most important task of protecting our homes and children. This meant the council had decided that our only defence was to defeat the enemy, period. Anything else meant the end of Darre.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the necessity of defending one's home and children, revealing the weight of tradition and the urgency of survival in dire times.
In this quote, N.K. Jemisin underscores the gravity of the situation in which the council finds itself, suggesting that turning to men for defense signifies a serious threat to their way of life. The emphasis on physical strength and the traditional role of men as protectors highlights the dire circumstances that have forced the society to rely on their last line of defense against potential destruction, reinforcing the themes of survival and the desperation inherent in conflict.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the importance of protecting one's community during a crisis.
So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all, every single one of us, no matter who we are and no matter what’s been taken from us or what poison we’ve internalized or how hard we’ve had to work to expel it – – we all get to dream.
There is nothing foolish about hope.
But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always a little love left, underneath. Yes. Horrible, isn't it?
There is no greater warrior than a mother protecting her child.
Love betrayed has an entirely different sound from hatred outright.
Any woman can face the world alone, but why should we have to?
"Mr. Thornton," said Margaret, shaking all over with her passion, "go down this instant, if you are not a coward. Go down and face them like a man. Save these poor strangers, whom you have decoyed here. Speak to your workmen as if they were human beings. Speak to them kindly. Don't let the soldiers come in and cut down poor-creatures who are driven mad. I see one there who is. If you have any courage or noble quality in you, go out and speak to them, man to man."
Something must be left to chance; nothing is certain in a sea fight
I have had many opportunities to flee HK, but I would rather stay and fight the United States government in the courts, because I have faith in Hong Kong's rule of law.
Loyalty and obedience to wisdom and justice are fine; but it is still finer to defy arbitrary power, unjustly and cruelly used--not on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of others more helpless.
The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.
The minute a person whose word means a great deal to others dare to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.
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