Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world.
Lois LowryRead
Ellen had said that her mother was afraid of the ocean, that it was too cold and too big. The sky was, too, thought Annemarie. The whole world was: too cold, too big. And too cruel.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects feelings of fear and overwhelm in the face of life's vastness and cruelty.
In this quote, the characters express a shared unease about the overwhelming nature of the world, symbolized by the ocean and the sky. They convey a sense of inadequacy in confronting the vastness and perceived cruelty of existence, suggesting a common human experience of vulnerability and fear in the face of life's challenges.
Themes
FearOceanLifeCrueltyVulnerabilityOverwhelm
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming fears of the unknown.
More from Lois Lowry
All quotes →I always set out to tell a good story, to create a character that young people can relate to, place them in a situation that will be interesting, intriguing, eventually suspenseful. But what I find is that after I do that, then there are themes that emerge, which teachers can then use to provoke discussion and debate.
Lois LowryRead
The man that I named the Giver passed along to the boy knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things. [from her Newberry Award acceptance speech]
Lois LowryRead
If somebody takes the time, a: to read a book that I have written, and then to b: care about it enough to write me and ask questions, surely I owe them a response.
Lois LowryRead
I think when you've had success, publishers and reviewers and readers are willing to let you try something new if you've already proven yourself. They're excited about what you're doing, you have people interested in it, and actually waiting for it. It's empowering.
Lois LowryRead
Most people remember being 4 objectively, as if they're seeing a movie of a 4-year-old. But me, if you ask me to think about when I'm 4, I can feel myself being 4, and I am there, looking out through my 4-year-old eyes.
Lois LowryRead
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