Messenger

“Flaws like that were not allowed. People were put to death for less. But here in Village, marks and failings were not considered flaws at all. They were valued. The blind man had been given the true name Seer and was respected for the special vision that he had behind his ruined eyes.”

This passage highlights the difference between Village and the rest of the world. While the rest of the world is cruel and does not recognize or value differences in individuals, Village does. Village creates a safe place for those who would be persecuted in their homelands for the way they were born. This passage also introduces the concept of true names, which is an important recurring theme.

“Leader could see beyond the shadows but was not certain what he saw. It was blurred, but there was something in Forest that disturbed Leader’s consciousness and made him uneasy. He could not tell whether it was good or bad. Not yet.”

This quote mentions Leader’s special ability to see beyond, though it does not expand upon it. It also foreshadows one of the main conflicts of the story: the thickening of Forest. This quote sets up a mysterious and apprehensive tone that persists for the rest of the story.

“There were no secrets in Village. It was one of the rules that Leader had proposed, and all of the people had voted in favor of it. Everyone who had come to Village from elsewhere, all of those who had not been born here, had come from places with secrets. Sometimes—not very often, for inevitably it caused sadness—people described their places of origin: places with cruel governments, harsh punishments, desperate poverty, or false comforts.”

This passage highlights two important themes. First, honesty is valued in Village and, second, Village is different from other civilizations. The townspeople understand the importance of openness and honesty because most of them came from places where these practices were not valued, and everyone suffered because of it. This quote also contrasts with the way the townspeople act at Trade Mart, where secrets abound.

“But now he knew that there were communities everywhere, sprinkled across the vast landscape of the known world, in which people suffered. Not always from beatings and hunger, the way he had. But from ignorance. From not knowing. From being kept from knowledge.”

This passage dives deeper into the reason honesty is valued in Village. It also again mentions how dangerous ignorance is and, therefore, how valuable honesty and sharing knowledge are. The passage also reveals Matty’s growing awareness of the world outside Village.

“He believed in Leader, and in Leader’s insistence that all of Village’s citizens, even the children, read, learn, participate, and care for one another. So Matty studied and did his best.”

This quote demonstrates how Village operates. It is a place where the citizens do their best for themselves and their neighbors and where education and compassion are valued and pursued. It also shows how Matty, though raised in a very different world, learned to assimilate to this way of living.

“There had been a petition—signed by a substantial number of people—to close Village to outsiders. There would have to be a debate, and a vote.”

This quote introduces the main external conflict of the story: the petition to close Village. This is the first time discord is mentioned in this utopian place and shows that not everything is as peaceful as it might seem. It also shows how Village operates politically, with debates and votes to make big decisions.

“‘More than that. I can’t think of the word for it. Selfishness, I guess. It’s creeping in.’ Matty was startled. Village had been created out of the opposite: selflessness. He knew that from his studies and from hearing the history. Everyone did. ‘But in the message—I could have read it to you again if you hadn’t burned it—it says that the group who wants to close the border is headed by Mentor! The schoolteacher!’”

This passage mentions the main themes and conflicts of the story: selfishness versus selflessness. The foundation of Village, selflessness, is threatened by an internal source, the townspeople themselves. This is the first hint readers are given that something is wrong in Village. This quote also introduces Mentor as the main antagonist, which is surprising to Matty and shows that changes are going on under the surface.

“He knelt to dig out a spot with his hands in the mossy earth. But when he tried to set the little body down, he found that he was connected to it in a way that made no sense. A painful kind of power surged from his hand, flowing into the frog, and held them bound together. Confused and alarmed, he tried to scrape the sticky body of the frog off his hand. But he couldn’t. The vibrating pain held them connected. Then, after a moment, while Matty knelt, still mystified by what was happening, the frog’s body twitched.”

This quote describes the first time Matty feels and uses his gift. Lowry’s word choice highlights the fear and confusion Matty feels but also how powerful he feels. It also emphasizes his connection to the creature he is healing.

“There was an intentness to everyone, an odd seriousness, and a sense of worry—unusual in Village—pervaded the atmosphere. No wonder Seer didn’t want me to come, Matty thought as he approached. It doesn’t feel right.”

This quote captures a subtle but important shift in tone. For the first time, Matty feels the changes that have been happening in his home, and he knows that something is wrong. The tone, which has been lighthearted until now, becomes more tense and dark.

“Jean began to cry softly. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘He has traded his deepest self.’”

This quote tells the reader what has been happening to Mentor and many other villagers. They have traded parts of themselves for the physical and material goods that Trade Mart offers. The hopelessness Jean feels is palpable and influences the mood, making the story feel more desolate than before.

“When it was over, and the vote to close Village had been finalized, Matty trudged home beside the blind man. At first they were silent. There was nothing to be said. Their world had changed now.”

This quote represents a turning point in the story. The tensions that have been building within Village come to a boiling point, and now there is no going back. The changes that the characters sense can no longer be ignored.

“Do you know about mine? Matty thought. But he did not need to ask. As if he had read Matty’s mind, Leader told him, ‘I know of yours.’”

This passage addresses the secret Matty has been keeping. Tension has been building around Matty’s gift and whether he should tell someone about it. It turns out that Leader has known of his gift all along.

“‘Wait for the true need, Matty. Don’t spend the gift.’ ‘But how will I know?’ Leader smiled. He rubbed Matty’s shoulder affectionately. ‘You’ll know.’”

This quote is repeated several times after this passage. Matty remembers Leader’s warning and takes his words to heart, as he is tempted to use his gift. This quote also characterizes Matty and Leader’s relationship. Leader takes over the role of Matty’s mentor while Mentor is debilitated by his trades at Trade Mart.

“What was happening to Village? Matty felt a terrible unease. There had never been an epidemic here. He remembered the place he had come from, where many had died, from time to time, and all of their belongings had been burned, after, in hopes of destroying the illnesses carried by filth or fleas or, some thought, sorcery. But it had never happened here. People had always been so careful here, so clean.”

This quote is another demonstration of how Village is changing rapidly and for the worse. The sense of foreboding which was slowly introduced earlier in the book is prevalent in all Matty’s worries. Village is becoming more like the civilizations the townspeople were trying to escape.

“But on this journey, something was different. For the first time, Matty felt hostility from Forest. The fish were slow to come to his hook. A chipmunk, usually an amiable companion, chittered angrily and bit his finger when he held his hand toward it. Many red berries, of a kind he had always eaten, had black spots on them and tasted bitter; and for the first time he noticed poison ivy growing across the path again and again, where it had never grown before.”

This quote shows how the changes in Forest reflect the changes in Village. Like Mentor, animals that were once kind are now distant and hostile. A place that used to be comfortable for Matty now feels dangerous.

“But there had always been a gentle side to Matty, even when he had disguised it. He had loved his dog, a mongrel he had found injured and had nursed back to health. And he had come, eventually, to love the crippled girl called Kira, who had never known her father, and whose mother had died suddenly and left her alone.”

This quote provides characterization of Matty, showing that his selfless nature and ability to see past physical flaws have existed since he was a child. Despite being raised in a cruel world, he is kind and gentle. His kindness extends to both people and animals.

“The twisted foot dragged in its familiar way. He had known everything about Kira for so long: her smile, her voice, her merry optimism, the amazing strength and skill of her hands, and the burden of her useless leg. I must tell you this, Matty thought before he slept. I can fix you.”

This passage gives characterization of both Kira and Matty. It is one of the first times the reader sees Kira after hearing about her for most of the book. She is strong, happy, skilled, and kind despite her twisted legs. This passage also shows the reader how Matty sees Kira. Though he admires her strength and skill, he still sees her twisted leg as something that needs to be fixed, exposing his ableist perspective.

“‘You can use that time to become accustomed to being whole’ […] ‘I am whole,’ she said defiantly.”

This quote again demonstrates Matty’s ableist perspective and Kira’s strength of character. She does not accept his attitude and refuses to change herself. She experiences her twisted leg not as a deformity but as a valuable part of herself.

“He could see, too, that she was accustomed to her stick and twisted leg. A lifetime of walking in that way has made it, as she had pointed out, a part of her. It was who she was. To become a fast-striding Kira with two straight legs would have been to become a different person.”

In this passage, the readers can see quick character growth in Matty. He went from not considering Kira to be whole because of her twisted leg to realizing that she is whole, and her leg is a part of who she is. Just as Matty comes to better understand the outer world of Village and the surrounding towns, he also increases his understanding of people.

“He remembered the days of Village in the past, when a person who had difficulty walking would be helped cheerfully by someone stronger. When a person with an injured arm would be tended and assisted till he healed.”

This quote shows Matty at his most hopeless. He no longer views Village as a nurturing, compassionate place. He knows and admits that it has changed for the worse.

“‘It’s his gift. You see ahead. He sees beyond. And I…’ Matty fell silent. He raised one hideously swollen arm and looked listlessly at the pus that seeped through the fabric of his sleeve. Then he laughed harshly. ‘I can fix a frog.’”

This conversation between Kira and Matty while they are trapped in Forest demonstrates how Matty views himself and his gift. He compares himself to Kira and Leader and feels useless. This line of thought adds to his hopelessness about their situation.

“Matty groaned and pressed his hands harder into the ground. All of his strength and blood and breath were entering the earth now. His brain and spirit became part of the earth. He rose. He floated above, weightless, watching his human self labor and writhe. He gave himself to it willingly, traded himself for all that he loved and valued, and felt free.”

This passage is the climax of the story. Matty sacrifices himself to heal the hearts of the people around him. Lowry chose to use the word “trade” to show that Matty is reversing the selfish trades at Trade Mart. Instead of trading the deepest parts of himself for a gaming machine, or better looks, he trades himself for the things and people he loves.

“He saw Forest and understood what Seer had meant. It was an illusion. It was a tangled knot of fears and deceits and dark struggles for power that had disguised itself and almost destroyed everything. Now it was unfolding, like a flower coming into bloom, radiant with possibility.”

This quote refers to the beginning of the book when Matty asked Seer if he feared Forest. It solidifies the connection between the emotional/spiritual states of the townspeople and the hostility of Forest. Forest is the embodiment of the secret fears and power struggles in the hearts of the townspeople.