Downsiders

“Railborn looked at him sharply, for Talon was not supposed to offer anything to the faller but a chance. No kind words. No directions.”

This passage speaks to the themes of Breaking Rules and Norms and Compassion Versus Cruelty. Throughout the novel, it is often kinder to break the rules than to follow them. Talon breaks the rules and shows Robert compassion. Railborn, Talon’s foil, is a stickler for rules and disapproves of Talon’s conduct. His disapproval foreshadows their later conflict when Talon meets Lindsay.

“The people’s minds have been scorched by the sun until they can’t tell up from down. That’s why they build towers instead of tunnels, like normal people.”

Talon reinforces the motif of clashing civilizations when he perpetuates the narrative that Topsiders are not very smart. Downsider rhetoric often features dramatic irony, and Talon twists the meaning of “normal people.”

“The Champ was a man who belonged to neither world—he had created a world all his own here in the shell of the old pool.”

Champ shows that people don’t need other people to make a world. Champ creates a place for himself. Taking advantage of The Fluidity of Binaries, he turns the pool into his autonomous universe.

“She had cautioned Lindsay about the many dangers of New York, as if Lindsay were the one heading into a perilous jungle, and not her.”

Lindsay’s mom reinforces the stereotype that New York City is a particularly dangerous space. The novel later subverts this stereotype when New Yorkers, inconvenienced by the city’s shutdown, don’t behave lawlessly but instead come together and party.

“[S]he wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘you people,’ but, having a background that was two parts Irish, one part Greek, and one part Polish, she found all of her ancestry equally offended.”

Lindsay’s reaction to Talon’s use of “you people” develops the theme of The Fluidity of Binaries. In a fluid world, identities are relative, so while Lindsay identifies as Irish, Greek, and Polish, in Talon’s eyes she is simply a Topsider.

“Why shouldn’t I want to know what goes on a hundred feet above my head?”

Though friends, Railborn and Talon are foils. Talon wants to know about the Topside, but Railborn thinks Talon should abide by the norms and rules of the Downside and forget about what’s happening above their heads.

“Only an outsider can see a world’s wonders for what they truly are.”

The narrator observes that as people grow used to their worlds, they stop paying attention to the “wonders” around them; it takes an outsider to see them clearly. Lindsay is in awe of the Downside, and the Topside dazzles Talon.

“In the mid 1970s, Sid and Henry had shipped in the steer for their subterranean horror epic, Bull!, which the producers proudly billed as Jaws, with a cow.”

Neal Shusterman uses an exclamation point to make a ridiculous movie premise even more absurd. The tagline adds to the nonsensical humor and pokes fun at Hollywood blockbusters.

“There’s plenty of fish in the pipes.”

Downsiders possess distinct idioms that reflect the world they live in. This idiom echoes the “Topsider” idiom “there’s plenty of fish in the sea”; however, Downsiders say “pipes” instead of “sea.” They’re underground, so the sea isn’t part of their world.

“FEAR THE TOPSIDE, OR BE CRUSHED BY ITS EMBRACE.”

The upper-case letters stress the importance of the Downside directive. The order perpetuates the motif of the clashing civilizations and subverts it, as the word “embrace” evokes affection and friendliness.

“What if it’s just this pipe, he thought; a straight and endless flow of cold, angry water forever and ever.”

In the pipe, presumably on his way toward death, Talon concocts an image of death as cold, hostile water. The image subverts grandiose images of the afterlife. It’s not particularly heavenly or hellish—it’s tedious and banal.

“He was quick to find, however, that coats were plentiful on the Topside. One need only to step into the entry of any Topside eatery to find a whole forest of them happily waiting on hooks for whomever happened to need them.”

This passage uses irony to generate humor. Talon thinks Topsiders are being generous, but the coats aren’t for people who “need them,” so Talon is inadvertently stealing them.

“The Fates brought me to the Topside to test me. I failed the test, and now the worlds will end.”

Talon alludes to Greek and Roman mythology where the Fates are three goddesses—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—who watch over humans. Talon believes his actions made the goddesses angry, so they’ll take revenge by destroying the Downside.

“What they needed was a prechewed candidate, easily swallowed, and less likely to give the Wise Advisors acid indigestion.”

Through a metaphor, the Wise Advisors reveal why they want Railborn to be the next Most-Beloved. He won’t upset their stomachs—that is, challenge their power.

“Of course it’s our place. In fact, it’s our responsibility.”

The repetition of “our” indicates that Lindsay feels ownership over the Downside. Yet Lindsay doesn’t live Downside, so she’s not a part of their community. She wants to help them, but her outsider status means she doesn’t know what’s best for them.

“‘I’m sorry, Talon,’ he whispered.”

This passage speaks to the theme of Compassion Versus Cruelty. Instead of providing a platform for Talon to share his Topside experience, Railborn punishes him, sending him to the Chamber of Soft Walls. The whispered apology doesn’t change Talon’s predicament, but it does reveal Railborn’s compassion and regret.

“What else is there to do but party?”

The blunt question indicates that Topsiders have no other choice but to have a good time while they have no gas, electricity, water, or unclogged sewers. The festive atmosphere portrays New York City as friendly, not automatically dangerous.

“It made Railborn think of the old fairy tale: the beauty asleep in a deep cavern of thorns. Only the kiss of a Most-Beloved would awaken her—but he didn’t dare kiss her for fear that she might slap him silly, even in this state.”

Shusterman adds humor to Gutta’s life-threatening situation and subverts traditional gender norms. Though she’s unconscious, she can still hit him if he tries to kiss her.

“Perhaps that is the greatest crime of conquest—that a civilization is denied the right to evolve beyond its own embarrassment.”

This passage speaks to the theme of Compassion Versus Cruelty. The narrator observes that all civilizations do “embarrassing” things, and ideally, people should let others “evolve” and not define them by past mistakes.

“‘I’m sorry for the things that have been taken from you, Daddy,’ she said, then she reached out and pressed the tiny knit sock into his hand. ‘Maybe this can make up for it.’”

This passage supports the theme of The Fluidity of Binaries. Lindsay invests the sock with the value it has in the Downside to give her father a meaningful gift. Even though Mark doesn’t understand the full import of this gesture, he appreciates it, showing that the boundary between the Topside and the Downside is porous.

“[S]he was relieved, but also a bit disappointed that the Powers-That-Be did not find her worthy of smiting in a freak accident.”

In this humorous passage, Becky is sad that the elusive “Powers-That-Be” don’t punish her for constantly talking. The irony is that Becky wants something bad to happen to prove that the “Powers-That-Be” care about her.

“With a library of so many millions of volumes, the disappearances could have gone unnoticed for months […] if it hadn’t been for the fact that each missing book was replaced by a single sock.”

Downsiders don’t steal the library books: They pay for them with their form of currency. The payment undercuts the purpose of the library, but it suggests that Downsiders might be starting libraries of their own. Under Talon’s leadership, the Downside is becoming more open to new ideas.

“Talon discovered what a Most-Beloved was required to do. Which was nothing in particular.”

This quote is ironic. As Most-Beloved, Talon destroyed half of the Downside and expanded the Downside’s territory. He initiated seismic changes, not “nothing in particular.”