Quotes (3) - The Tenth City

“No sooner had the words left his mouth than the winds became more violent, the waves crashing against the ship and pushing it toward the cliffs. Rain came tumbling out of the sky like no rain I’d ever seen before. It felt as though the sky above us had waited for our arrival and held on to more and more water, month after month, only to drop it all on the Warwick Beacon.

There was a sound then, a roaring from the east, and we all turned to see what it was. Through the driving rain we all saw the wind coming straight at us. We could see it off in the distance lifting the water into great waves. The storm didn’t creep up on our boat like a cat will sneak up on a mouse. It leaped on top of us all at once without warning, and we began to tumble on the waves toward the cliffs.”

-pg. 18, The Tenth City

This quote showed how violent the waves of the Lonely Sea were. Patrick Carman wrote the first paragraph in such a way that shows Alexa being very frightened. The metaphor Carman used was also helpful for visualizing what happened to the Warwick Beacon. It allowed me to imagine a giant tiger leaping on its pray: the Warwick Beacon.

“Armon looked over his shoulder at us and found Murphy and me hoping for some reassurance that he could scale the cliffs. He sighed mightily and looked at his own hands in the weak light of the crevice – we all looked at them. I leaned over and put my hand against his, then Murphy ran down my arm and put his paw on the back of my hand – my hand so much bigger than Murphy’s paw, Armon’s hand that much bigger still than mine.

‘If I had hands that big I could do it,’ said Murphy, and for some reason Armon thought this was very funny, and he began to laugh. He stretched out his arms and his back rumbled and cracked against my chest.

-pg. 32, The Tenth City

Patrick Carman's writing made me wonder if Murphy would've liked to have a larger size instead being a tiny squirrel. As a squirrel, Murphy must be an excellent climber. In the quote, "If I had hands that big I could do it", it emphasizes on the "I". To me, I think Murphy wants to do something significant for once, and not be an noticeable little squirrel.

“‘Someone is coming, Alexa. The animals are stirring.”

I listened along with Ander and heard the faint sound of something approaching from the woods. A moment later, Odessa came into the clearing. I was happy to see her.

‘Odessa!’ I said.

Ander sniffed at the air, his big head bouncing back and forth as he stretched his nose out from side to side. As I watched Odessa slowly approach us, I glanced around the grove and noticed something peculiar. All the animals had gone away, leaving bare stones strewn with dirt and leaves. Only Ander remained.

‘There is something foul in the air,’ said Ander. I smelled it as well, the terrible odor of rotting flesh.

Odessa crept forward a few more steps, and then I heard the sound of beings crashing through the trees from every direction, moving fast. I could see their heads bobbing through the trees, their swollen shoulders knocking down limbs as they came, the black cloaks, and the hideous faces.

The ogres were upon us, closing in from all sides.

‘Odessa, how could you?’ said Ander. He was astounded at the sight of these creatures, and we both knew without hesitation that Odessa had led them to this sacred place, …

-pg. 133-134, The Tenth City

Carman creates a serious tone, along with a depressing mood. The friend of Alexa Daley and others had just betrayed them and brought the orges to where they all were. I was extremely astonished! At the same time, I was also afraid of what might happen to Alexa and her companions. Grindall would not just simply let them go, but instead torture them until he got his hands on the last Jocasta, and destroys the Tenth City. Patrick Carman reels the readers in and let them, too, "feel" the unbelievable situation that Alexa and her friends were facing.