The Struggle In Jeanne Duprau's The City Of Ember

During times of hardship and struggle, many fascinating characters take action to help Lina Mayfleet overcome these significantly serious problems in Jeanne Duprau’s novel, “The City of Ember”. At the beginning of the novel, Lina Mayfleet was an etiquette young girl who lived with her grandma,“Granny”, and her baby sister,“Poppy”. They lived in a small apartment that was once owned by one of her ancestors who was the mayor in a doomed city called “City of Ember”. In the city of Ember, when children reach the age of twelve, they were old enough to work. Lina preferred working as a messenger although on Assignment day she was given a job at the pipeworks instead. After talking with her friend, “Doon Harrow”, a-twelve-year-old boy who got the …show more content…
He had been friends with Lina since they were young but as they grew up they also grew apart. The novel proves this when it states, “When they were younger, Lina and Doon had been friends. Together they had explored the back alleys and dimly lit edges of the city. But in their fourth year of school, they had begun to grow apart.” (DuPrau, 19). Although they began to grow apart, Doon still had the desire to help her whenever she needed it. For example, when Lina wanted the job Doon had been given, he willingly traded with her; “Will you trade with me?... I don’t want to waste my time being a messenger.” (DuPrau, 15). As a result Lina could get the job she wanted and Doon could follow his dreams and attempt to fix the generator which would save the city. Additionally, Doon was present to help Lina when her sister, Poppy, chewed up a very important paper given to one of Lina’s ancestors from the people who built the city. This paper held instructions on how to escape the city which they only figured out after Doon helped Lina put the chewed parts of the instructions back together. Soon after Doon had realized that the builders left instructions to escape the city because the generator of the city wasn't meant to be fixed. He was quick to help Lina and Poppy escape. Furthermore, he also snuck Lina around the generator …show more content…
Evaleen Murdo is another extraordinary character who helps Lina with a major problem. After Lina explained that both their parents had died at work and about her grandmother’s passing, Mrs Murdo quickly offered them a home. “Well,” said Mrs. Murdo briskly, “it’s just common sense. You need a place. I have one. You go on now, and I’ll see you this evening.” (DuPrau, 142) Mrs. Murdo allowed Lina and Poppy to live in her own home, nourished them, treated them like her own family as she acted like a motherly figure towards Lina. “Lina rather liked having Mrs. Murdo around—it was a bit like having a mother there. She wasn't anything like Lina's own mother, who had been a dreamy, absent-minded sort of person. Mrs. Murdo was mother-like in quite a different way.” (DuPrau, 71). As the novel progressed, the bond between Lina and Mrs. Murdo did as well. The reader can infer that Lina generally liked having Mrs. Murdo as a mother figure and each day she seemed more like her own family as it says in the text “She had Poppy. She had friends. And she had Mrs. Murdo, who was somewhere between a relative and a friend. “ (DuPrau, 143) Lina trusted Mrs. Murdo and by babysitting Poppy, Lina’s stress decreased tremendously. Without Mrs. Murdo this would not had been possible as she would have never been able to take care of Poppy, work, and make food. Her gratitude towards Mrs. Murdo is seen as, “She was grateful for Mrs. Murdo’s kindness. I am not ready yet to be alone in the world, she