Memorable Quotes
A sentence, alone, can say quite a lot, but it takes more than one sentence to tell a story. And a story is, of course, much more than the sum of its parts – a story as a whole, has a lesson to teach, or an emotion to convey, or a message to deliver. Hidden within every story are memorable quotes that transcend the importance of a sentence (although they are sometimes themselves not a complete sentence) and alone can make the story a worthwhile read. Here are some memorable quotes from To the Lighthouse
Quote: “Had there been and axe handy, or a poker, any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, then and there, James would have seized it,” (4).
Quote Explained: The reader is immediately informed of the loathing James has for his father, although we are not told the source of this animosity until later in the story. James thinks like the adults around him think and quotes like this would make the reader believe that he is an adult himself. It is strange to find out later that he is actually only six years old.
Quote: “It seemed to her such nonsense – inventing difference, when people, heaven knows, were different enough without that.” (8).
Quote Explained: This is Mrs. Ramsey contemplating people and questioning the motives and thinking behind how they act.
Quote: “He called them privately after kings and queens of England; Cam the Wicked, James the Ruthless, Andrew the Just, Prue the Fair…” (22).
Quote Explained: Virginia Woolf used this character’s thought as a method to summarize the personalities of the Ramsey children.
Quote: “… what a delight is would be to her should he turn out a great artist; and why should he not? He had a splendid forehead.”(31).
Quote Explained: This is a perfect example of stream of consciousness: it is something that made complete sense in Mrs. Ramsey’s mind, but she wouldn’t say outloud because it wouldn’t make sense to anyone else.
Quote: “All this phrase making was a game, she thought, for if she had said half what he said she would have blown her brains out by now.”(69).
Quote Explained: This is what Mrs. Ramsey thinks about Charles Tansley’s open cynicism.
Quote: “So that one repeats words with out being aware any longer who originally spoke them,” (159).
Quote Explained: In the third part of the book, as Lily is about to begin working on her final painting, the discouraging words of Charles Tansley come to her from the past and she struggles to remember who spoke them.
Quote: “Very few people in the whole if England ever reach Q,” (33).
Quote Explained: This is Mr. Ramsey’s analysis of intelligence, namely his. He uses the letters of the alphabet to signify one’s level of genius.
Introduction Author Background Setting Plot Characters
Figurative Language Diction/ Syntax Tone Themes/ Motifs
Memorable Quotes Meet the Designers
