A Wiradjuri elder living in Lake Cowal and organizing protests of the mining company that wants to set up drilling operations there. May meets Issy when she arrives at the lake (the center of traditional Wiradjuri lands) during her quest to find her Gibson family. Issy takes the young girl under her wing, teaching her about their common heritage; it’s Issy’s principles that inspire May’s later epiphany about the spiritual connection between humans and nature. While May’s Gibson relatives prove a disappointment, meeting Aboriginal mentors like Issy make her journey instructive and worthwhile.
Issy Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Issy or refer to Issy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
14. Just Dust
Quotes
Issy says they don’t understand that just because you can’t see something, don’t mean it’s not there. She says that under the earth, the land we stand on, under all this is water. She says that our people are born from quartz crystal, hard water. We are powerful people, strong people.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Issy Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Issy or refer to Issy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
14. Just Dust
Quotes
Issy says they don’t understand that just because you can’t see something, don’t mean it’s not there. She says that under the earth, the land we stand on, under all this is water. She says that our people are born from quartz crystal, hard water. We are powerful people, strong people.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
