The colored pencils Lina purchases from Looper illustrate the consequences of greed, selfishness, and desperation that plague Ember. Looper’s colored pencils are likely some of the last in Ember and because of this, are exorbitantly priced at $5 per pencil—and though Lina knows that she could use that money to buy clothing for Granny and Poppy, and that doing that would be a better use for the money, she still finds that she’s overcome with desire when she sees the pencils. As Lina looks over and purchases the pencils, the power goes out, and Lina loses Poppy in the darkness. With this, Lina begins to see that the feelings of greed, desire, and selfishness that she experienced have potentially devastating consequences if she chooses to indulge them. In this sense, while the pencils aren’t inherently bad, the selfish feelings they stir up make it clear to Lina that rare luxury items—and even basic staples as supplies become scarcer—have the potential to replace the strong sense of community in Ember with dangerous, individualistic practices and beliefs.
Colored Pencils Quotes in The City of Ember
Later, in her bedroom, with Poppy asleep, she took the two colored pencils from her pocket. They were not quite as beautiful as they had been. When she held them, she remembered the powerful wanting she had felt in that dusty store, and the feeling of it was mixed up with fear and shame and darkness.
“And Lizzie—he isn’t just stealing things for you. He has a store! He steals things and sells them for huge prices!”
“He does not,” said Lizzie, but she looked worried.
“He does. I know because I bought something from him just a few weeks ago. He has a whole box of colored pencils.”
“There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It’s not just outside, it’s inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It’s like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets.”
Colored Pencils Symbol Timeline in The City of Ember
