Student Question
In The City of Ember, how are color and light important, aside from the failing street lamps?
Clary tells Lena, "Everyone has some darkness inside" (p. 168).
Quick answer:
In "The City of Ember," color and light symbolize both literal and figurative illumination. The city is metaphorically in darkness due to ignorance and apathy, as its underground nature and the means to repair or create light sources are unknown. Discovering portable light sources, like candles and matches, represents enlightenment. The revelation of living underground and seeing the moon and stars for the first time symbolizes a new understanding and hope.
Light and color are important both literally and figuratively. Ember calls itself "the only light in the dark world," but its inhabitants are living in the figurative dark of ignorance and apathy. The fact that the city is underground has been kept from the people. There seems to be no one with adequate knowledge to repair the generator. Even the knowledge of how to create any alternative light source has been lost. The concepts of a "candle" and "matches" are mysterious when first encountered. Lina and the others are enlightened metaphorically through gaining this knowledge of a movable light source.
The route to a world with light is finally revealed. Learning they are living underground, the children see the moon and stars for the first time.
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