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The Builders
Lina and Poppy’s elderly grandmother and the girls’ only caregiver after the deaths of their parents. Granny is a small woman with wild white hair. She runs a yarn shop above which she, Lina, and Poppy live—but the yarn shop is disorganized and easy to get tangled in. The narrator implies that Granny has been a competent caregiver in the past, but around the time the novel picks up, Granny starts forgetting things and becomes obsessed with finding something lost in the house—but she can’t remember what that thing is. In her attempts to find the lost object, Granny begins to forget Poppy and leave her unsupervised in potentially dangerous situations. She also doesn’t do much housework, leaving Lina to perform most household duties like cooking, cleaning, and caring for Poppy. Despite her decline, Granny loves Lina dearly and is supportive of her job. Granny dies after struggling for two days with a fever.
Granny Quotes in The City of Ember
The The City of Ember quotes below are all either spoken by Granny or refer to Granny. 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:
).
Chapter 4 Quotes
“You haven’t forgotten the baby?”
“Oh, yes. She’s...I think she’s down in the shop.”
“By herself?” Lina stood up and ran down the stairs. She found Poppy sitting on the floor of the shop, enmeshed in a tangle of yellow yarn. As soon as she saw Lina, Poppy began to howl.
Lina picked her up and unwound the yarn, talking soothingly, though she was so upset that her fingers trembled. For Granny to forget the baby was dangerous.
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Chapter 7 Quotes
Lina rather liked having Mrs. Murdo around—it was a bit like having a mother there. [...] When Mrs. Murdo was there, shoes got picked up and put away, spills were wiped off the furniture, and Poppy always had on clean clothes. Lina could relax when Mrs. Murdo was around. She knew things were taken care of.
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Chapter 11 Quotes
The blue-green room, the orderly apartment, the meals cooked, and the blankets tucked in cozily at night—all this gave her a feeling of comfort, almost luxury. She was grateful for Mrs. Murdo’s kindness. I am not ready yet to be alone in the world, she thought.
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Chapter 12 Quotes
“My grandmother died.”
“Oh!” Doon’s face fell. “That’s so sad,” he said. “I’m sorry.” His sympathy made tears spring to Lina’s eyes. Doon looked startled for a moment, and then he took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a squeeze so quick and tight that it made her cough, and then it made her laugh. She realized all at once that Doon [...] was the person she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend.
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Get the entire The City of Ember LitChart as a printable PDF.
Granny Quotes in The City of Ember
The The City of Ember quotes below are all either spoken by Granny or refer to Granny. 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:
).
Chapter 4 Quotes
“You haven’t forgotten the baby?”
“Oh, yes. She’s...I think she’s down in the shop.”
“By herself?” Lina stood up and ran down the stairs. She found Poppy sitting on the floor of the shop, enmeshed in a tangle of yellow yarn. As soon as she saw Lina, Poppy began to howl.
Lina picked her up and unwound the yarn, talking soothingly, though she was so upset that her fingers trembled. For Granny to forget the baby was dangerous.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes
Lina rather liked having Mrs. Murdo around—it was a bit like having a mother there. [...] When Mrs. Murdo was there, shoes got picked up and put away, spills were wiped off the furniture, and Poppy always had on clean clothes. Lina could relax when Mrs. Murdo was around. She knew things were taken care of.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes
The blue-green room, the orderly apartment, the meals cooked, and the blankets tucked in cozily at night—all this gave her a feeling of comfort, almost luxury. She was grateful for Mrs. Murdo’s kindness. I am not ready yet to be alone in the world, she thought.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes
“My grandmother died.”
“Oh!” Doon’s face fell. “That’s so sad,” he said. “I’m sorry.” His sympathy made tears spring to Lina’s eyes. Doon looked startled for a moment, and then he took a step toward her and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a squeeze so quick and tight that it made her cough, and then it made her laugh. She realized all at once that Doon [...] was the person she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
