Messenger

“‘Were you scared of Forest?’ Matty asked him. So many people were, and with good reason. ‘No. It’s all an illusion.’ Matty frowned. He didn’t know what the blind man meant. Was he saying that fear was an illusion? Or that Forest was?”

This quote is unassuming at first, but the concepts of Forest and fear foreshadow the climax of the story. By the end of the book, Matty is forced to face both his Forest and his fear, and he discovers that both are illusions.

“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.