City of Ember
Prologue/Chapter 1:
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Inhabited
Endeavor
Successor
Procedure
Briskly
Wretched
Evaluation
Questions:
1. Where does the city of Ember get its light from? (p. 1 flood lamps and light post, run
by the generator)
2. Describe Lina Mayfleet. (slender, dark hair, social, curious,)
3. What happens on Assignment Day? (p. Children pick randomly out of a bag and read
from a slip of paper, the job they will perform every day for three years to help the
city)
4. What was kept in the storerooms? (p. 9 - Supplies of every kind.)
5. What were some of the assignments the children of Ember could be assigned to? (p.
9- 16 Supply Depot clerk, store keepers, Electrician’s helper, pipeworks, messanger,
trash sifter, mold scraper, greenhouse helper)
6. Compare Lina and Doon’s personalities at the beginning of the book. (Lina more
social, free spirited, she wanted to go places and talk to people. Doon was serious
and anxious. He wanted to get to the bottom of things and figure out things about
helping the city and the lights.)
7. Why did Doon want to switch jobs with Lina? (p. 15 Doon wanted to go down to the
pipeworks to see the generator. He had ideas he wanted to investigate)
Chapter 2: Vocabulary
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Equipped
Obstacles
Immensely
Unraveled
Twitching
Scavengers
Converse
Questions:
1. Why did Lina and Doon stop being friends when they were younger? (p.20 The kids
were performing a dare and Doon fell down. Lina and the others laughed at him and
he became angry at her and everyone and he got in trouble for the dare when he
didn’t feel he deserved it)
2. Describe the house Lina lives in. (p. 21 Lina’s Granny’s shop is messy and unkept
with yarn and materials.
3. Why does Lina live with her Granny? (p. 23 Her mother died giving birth to her
sister, Poppy and her father died of a coughing sickness that went through the town)
4. What did Lina have hanging up all over her room? ( p.24 Things she thought were
things of beauty, a peach can label, dried squash flowers, a strip of purple cloth, and
her drawings)
5. What did Lina think of her new job after her first few message assignments? (p. 31
she thought all of it was interesting, she loved finding things out and running)
6. What was her message to the Mayor? (p. 31 Delivery at eight from Looper)
7. How did the city of Ember keep track of hours and time with no sun to guide them?
(p.34 the “timekeeper” job was to wind the clock every week and place the date up)
8. What did Lina do at the Gathering Hall that could have cost her her job? (p. 36 she
went on the roof and waved, danced, and shouted at the people below)
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
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Anticipation
Investigation
Raucous
Clamor
Plodding
Questions
1. Describe what the Pipeworks were like. (p,40 damp, smelled like moldy rubber,
loud, dark)
2. How did Doon get into the generator area? ( p. 46 He asked a worker about it and
observed it)
3. What do you think Doon was hoping to learn from seeing the generator? (anything
he could about how to solve the electricity problems of the city)
4. What does Doon’s Father do for a job? (p.49 Small Items shopkeeper)
5. Doon learned a lot on his first day in the Pipeworks. What did he learn about
himself? (he thought he’d be able to look at the generator and figure out how to fix
it, but he learned that it was complex and he didn’t know as much about it as he
thought he would)
6. What is Doon’s plan as he continues on working down in the pipeworks?
(p.53 to find something important that will help not just bugs and stopping leaks)
Chapter 4 Vocabulary
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Absolute
Occasional
Ruffled
Infected
Gleaming
Ignite
dissolved
Questions
1. What is Granny looking for when Lina comes home? (p. 54 something she lost, she
knows it’s important but can’t find it or remember what it was)
2. How is Granny’s forgetfulness becoming dangerous? (p. 55 She forgot about taking
care of the baby)
3. What do we learn about Granny’s Grandfather? (p. 56 He was the 7th mayor who
died and didn’t pass on the important box)
4. What did Clary say was the problem with the potatoes? (p.61 They were diseased,
they are runny instead of hard and they stink)
5. What would happen if the city of Ember couldn’t grow crops? (there wouldn’t be any
fresh food for them)
6. Where had Sadge been? (p. 64 he went to the Unknown Regions)
7. What was the problem with trying to explore past the city? (p. 66 There was no
moveable light, no flashlights, candles, or matches.)
Chapter 5 Vocabulary
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Turnip
Fierce
Defiant
Incoherently
Hobbled
Scolded
Questions
1. What was special about Thursdays? (p. 71 Workers between 12-15 years old got the
day off)
2. What prized possesion does Lina buy from Looper? For how much money? (p. 76
colored pencils, each pencil $5)
3. Can you think of something you would be willing to pay 5 times the cost for just to
have?
4. What happened while Lina was looking at the pencils? (P. 77 Poppy disappeared)
5. What kinds of worrysome thoughts were possibly going through Lina’s head when
she couldn’t find Poppy in the dark? (Poppy was scared, Poppy was hurt, Poppy was
lost, someone took Poppy)
6. Who found Poppy? (p. 81 Doon)
7. What is you opinion of Doon at this point in the story? Do you like him? Why or why
not?
8. How did losing Poppy change how happy Lina was about her colored pencils? (p. 82
She felt guilty for not watching Poppy and every time she colored with them she
would be reminded of what happened)
Chapter 6 Vocabulary
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Solutions
Incomprehensible
Consequences
Unintended
Hurling
Snatches
Uneasy
Questions
1. What was different about the most recent power failure? ( p. 84 it was twice as long
as any other ones)
2. What do you think the mayor’s solution to the problems that are occuring will be?
3. Can you think of any solutions that might help the people of Ember?
4. How did the crowd react to the mayor’s speech? (p. 87 shouting and questioning,
pushing and shoving)
5. What did Granny find in the closet? (p. 91 A small dark, shiny box with a mechanim
on the edge, a lock. It was dented and scratched)
6. What was Poppy chewing on? (p. 92 a piece of paper from the box with printing on
it)
7. What do you think was on that paper?
Chapter 7 Vocabulary
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Discovery
Examine
Instructions
Reluctantly
Disapprovingly
Fragile
Accurate
Questions
1. What was so different about the paper Lina found that sparked her curiosity? (p.93
it was written in print not handwriting)
2. What conclusion did Lina come to about where this paper had come from? (p. 93
The builders)
3. Who did she tell first about her discovery? (p. 97 Captain Fleery, the messenger
captain)
4. How did Captain Fleery react to the paper pieces? (p. 98 She thought it might have
been a recipe, or a school exercise. She did not seem to find it something to worry
about or get excited about)
5. What fruit has Lina never tried but only heard about? ( p. 101 pineapple,)
6. Who did Lina show the paper piece to next? (p.105 Lizzie)
7. How did Lizzie react to the paper pieces? How do you think Lina felt about her
reaction? (p.106 Lizzie hardly even looked at the paper and wasn’t really interested.
Lina was proably very disappointed because she thought it was an important
message)
8. Who does Lina decide to write a letter to about her paper? (p. 108 the mayor)
9. Lina has had a few encounters with Doon since assignment day. Now she decides to
trust him for help with the paper pieces. Do you think this is a wise decision? Why or
why not?
Chapter 8 Vocabulary
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Urgent
Lounged
Significant
Mysterious
Restlessly
Jolt
Spiral
Questions
1. Doon is exploring the Pipeworks. What kind of discoveries does he make? (p. 114 a
black beetle, pliers, a coin, a supply closet, a hatch in the ceiling of a tunnel)
2. Why was he becoming so frustrated with his discoveries? (they were of little
importance that he could tell)
3. Why did Doon go to the library? (p. 117 to find information on a movable light
source)
4. What information did he find about fire at the library? (p. 118 there was a fire 40
years ago, and what to do if your oven caught on fire)
5. He did find an interesting book at the end of this chapter. What was this book? (p.
120 Mysterious Words from the Past)
6. Name one of the words or phrases from this book Doon found and write the
definition they gave. (heavens, hogwash, batting a thousand, all in the same boat)
7. Who walks into the library at the end of the chapter? (p.120 Lina)
Chapter 9 Vocabulary
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Astonished
Descended
Ambled
Furious
Glumly
Familiar
Vanished
Questions
1. Lina is taking care of a plant for Clary. Why do you think the author included this in
the book? ( possible answers: to show that the growing process of a plant was not
common knowledge among the people of Ember, to add to Lina’s charater that she
was trustworthy and kept her word)
2. Compare Doon’s drawings to Lina’s. (p. 123 Lina drew cities from her imagination.
Doon drew insects that he’d observed or collected)
3. What does Doon think of Lina’s discovery of the box and paper?(p. 125 He is excited
and thinks that it is an important discovery)
4. How is Lina going to get into the Pipeworks with Doon so she can investigate the
door he found?(p. 126 She is going to come at quitting time and wait outside the
door out of sight and Doon will let her in)
5. What does Lina think of the Pipeworks when she gets down there? (p. 126 She
thinks its creepy, scary. The cold gives her a chill that run through her bones, blood
and flesh.)
6. What does Doon say happens to people that fall into the river? (p. 126 The river
swallows them and they get swept away. You don’t survive)
7. What do Lina and Doon discover while they are down there? (p 129 Someone is
coming down there and unlocking a door.)
8. Lina thinks there is something familiar about the way the person is moving. Make a
prediction as to whom you think it might be.
Chapter 10 Vocabulary
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Hoarse
Lurking
Stroked
Gurgling
Dozed
Whittled
Marvels
Questions
1. List the line of people Lina must speak with to find help when her Granny is sick. (p.
132 Mrs. Murdo to Captain Fleery to Dr. Tower)
2. What does Dr. Fleet tell Lina to do to help with Granny’s fever? (p. 133 Make her
soup, give her water to drink, put cool rags on her forehead, and let her sleep)
3. Describe the picture Lina draws in this chapter. ( p. 136 Clusters of buildings with
windows and doors, streetlamps, and buildings of all diferent sizes, and a funny blue
sky)
4. One of Granny’s last questions to Lina is about the box. What does she ask and what
does Lina tell her? (p. 134 Did we find the box that her grandfather lost? Lina tells
her yes, it’s safe now)
5. While taking care of Granny, Lina is reminded of something from her past. What is
it? (P. 134 Her father’s illness and what his breathing was like shortly before he
died)
6. How do you think Lina is feeling this chapter as she takes care of the one person left
who can take care of her and her sister? ( sad, scared, alone)
7. Do you think Lina knew this would be her last night with her Granny? Why or why
not?
Chapter 11 Vocabulary
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Lavender
Distracted
Misfortunes
Absently
Sympathetic
Scuffled
Dismay
Questions
1. What is the “Singing”? (p. 141 Once a year, the people of the city come together to
sing the three great songs of Ember)
2. Where are Poppy and Lina going to live now that Granny is gone? (P. 142 Mrs.
Murdo offers to let them come live with her and she will take care of them)
3. How does Lina feel about living with Mrs. Murdo? ( P. 142-4 Grateful and thankful
that she will take care of them and that she doesn’t have to be alone)
4. What does Lina discover Lizzie has in her sack? ( p. 147 Peaches, creamed corn,
applesauce, supplies no one can find anymore)
5. Where does Lizzie claim she got them from? (p. 147 On the back shelf of the market)
6. Where did Lizzie really get the cans from? ( p. 150 a storeroom worker named
Looper Windly)
7. Looper is mentioned at two other times in the book. What are those times? ( He is
mentioned in Lina’s first message to the mayor and he sells Lina her colored pencils)
8. What is the moral dilemma Lizzie and Lina argue over? (p. 152 If what Looper is
doing is right. Is he stealing? How it’s not fair that only two people are benefiting
from his stealing)
Chapter 12 Vocabulary
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Glimpse
Beckoned
Slogans
Hustled
Satisfied
Striding
Demonstrators
Questions
1. Doon and Lina were hoping and waiting for an announement that a way out of
Ember had been found. Why do you think there was no announcemnt? (P. 155
Possible answers: it wasn’t a discovery, someone was hiding something )
2. What does Doon find inside the locked door? ( p. 156 A room full of food and
supplies with a little living room that had been set up and a giant blob of a person,
unidentified at this time)
3. Who was in the locked room? (p. 158 the mayor)
4. Who are the believers? ( p. 159 a group of people who join together to sing and
encourage each other, seemingly like a religious group)
5. Lina has figured out who the person is that was going in and out of the locked room.
Who is it? (p. 160 Looper)
6. How was he getting the supplies to the Pipeworks unnoticed? (p. 161 There is a
hatch in the ceiling near tunnel 351 that goes up to the storerooms. Looper works in
the storerooms)
7. Lina receives a sympathetic hug from Doon when she tells him her grandmother
died. What does she realize at this moment? (p. 163 He was her best friend who
knew her better than anyone now and she knew him pretty well also)
8. Who do Lina and Doon decide to tell about the mayor’s secret? (p. 164 the guards at
the Gathering Hall, specifically Barton Snode)
Chapter 13 Vocabulary
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Emerged
Astonish
Plunged
Enthusiasm
Limbs
Flailed
Straggly
Questions
1. What did Lina tell Clary? ( p. 167 about the Instructions, what they found in the
Pipeworks and who they had seen)
2. What had happened to Lina’s pot of dirt? (p. 169 The plant had sprouted into a pale
green loop in the pot)
3. Clary told Lina a key part of the Instructions. What did Clary tell Lina that “egress”
means? (p. 171 it means exit)
4. Together Doon and Lina make more sense of the Instructions. What have they
figured out so far? (p. 174 there is a door with a key. There is a stone marked with
an E down the riverbank there is a ledge down near the water.)
5. Why do you think Doon doesn’t tell his Father about what he and Lina have
discovered? (p. 176 He wanted it to be a surprise when the town made an
announcement and they thanked Doon for supplying the information)
6. Why might this be a bad decision not to tell his Father? (his father could help them,
his Father might warn them away from a dangerous situation)
7. In the very last paragraph of the chapter why do you think Doon can’t sleep? (p. 177
he remembered something he had seen in the Pipeworks that might help them)
Chapter 14 Vocabulary
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Bewilderment
Flickering
Hauled
Embedded
Approximately
Appealing
Convoluted
Questions
1. Where did Doon find the rock marked with and E? (p. 180 at the west end of the
river ino a great hole in the Pipeworks wall)
2. When do Doon and Lina go to check out his new discovery? (p. 180 During rehearsal
for the Singing)
3. What did they discover would help them get to the bottom of the riverbank?(p. 182
a ladder with slippery rungs)
4. How do you think Lina and Doon are feeling right now as they venture down the
ladder? (p. 183 scared, excited, anxious, curious)
5. They thought the Instructions said “behind a small steel pan”. It actually said what?
(p. 185 Behind a small steel pannel)
6. As they travel further they find a box full of candles and matches. Describe what
happens as they try to figure out what to do with these? (p. 189 they rub them on
paper and nothing happens, the rub the match on the box and it lights, they finally
figure out to light the string on the sticks)
7. What are they supposed to do with the boat? (p. 192 Use the ropes to lower it into
the water and ride it on the river out of Ember)
8. Make a prediction what Doon and Lina will do next.
Chapter 15 Vocabulary
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Rehearsal
Gazed
Eagerness
Rummaged
Shabby
Scuffed
Sensible
Questions
1. What did Doon and Lina see after they found the first boat and supplies? (p. 194 A
room full of hundreds of boats with supplies on them)
2. What did Doon take with him as they went back home (p. 194 his candle and a
bunch of matches)
3. Because the day of Singing was a holiday in Ember, what special things happened?
(p. 196 the stores and other buisnesses were closed)
4. What did Doon pack for his traveling pack? (p. 196 candle, matches, rope, a bottle of
water, and a folding knife. He also put extra clothes, paper, and a pencil, a blanket
and a packet of food)
5. What would you have packed if you were leaving your home forever?
6. Why were the guards looking for Doon Harrow and Lina? (p. 200 they were accusing
them of spreading vicious rumors)
7. How was Lina feeling about leaving the city on the river? (P. 201 She was dreading it
but she was ready and excited to go)
8. Doon and Lina decide to go on their own but they want to leave a note. Who do they
decide to leave the note with? Why? (p. 208 Clary because she has seen the
Instructions and will probably believe them)
9. What happens as Lina goes to deliver the note to Clary? (p. 211 the guards see her
and start chasing her)
Chapter 16 Vocabulary
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Frantically
Lopsided
Extraordinary
Immense
Vast
Impudence
Enclosure
Questions
1. Why was the mayor so upset about the “spreading of vicious rumors”? (p. 215 1st of
all they were about the Mayor and they were not kind rumors, 2nd they were
claiming that the “dangerous lies were to cause civic unrest”)
2. Describe the apperance of the mayor. (p. 216 baggy face, the color of a mushroom,
black suit streched out to fit him.
3. What happened when the lights went out? (p. 219 Lina escaped knowing just where
to go)
4. Name the three songs sang on the Singing day. (p. 222-3 The Song of the City, The
Song of Darkness, The Song of the River)
5. How do these songs summarize the whole book? (the entire city’s existance and
Lina’s survival revolve around these three things)
6. What did Lina see in the middle of the darkness while the lights were out? (p. 224
Doon’s candle flame)
7. On page 225 Lina “has a plan”. What do you think her plan is?
(possible answers to go find Doon, to go get Poppy, to go get help)
Chapter 17 Vocabulary
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Wryly
Fending
Hostile
Designed
Adventure
Heaved
Plump
Questions
1. What were Doon’s two choices if Lina didn’t show up? (p. 230 He could stay and do
what he could to save her or he could go to the boat and hope Lina could tell
everyone the way out of Ember)
2. When Lina arrives what does she have with her? (p. 231 Poppy, her sister)
3. How is bringing along a baby going to be an extra challenge for her? (She will have
to carry her and figure out how to climb down the ladder with her and keep her still
in the boat)
4. How does Lina get Poppy down the ladder? (p. 232 She ties her sweater like a sling
for Poppy to sit in and buttons her coat around her.
5. What did Lina think the paddles on the boat were for? (p. 233 fending off hostile
creatures)
6. How did Doon and Lina use teamwork to figure out how to launch the boat? (p. 235
the carried the boat together, Lina remembered where to find the rope. Doon found
the metal rod and knotted the rope to the metal rung on the wall. )
7. What did it feel like when they got into the boat? (p. 246 it bounced, rocked, and
tipped from side to side by the violent rocking and then it shot forward)
Chapter 18 Vocabulary
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Enormous
Shuddered
Thrashing
Shallow
Current
Boulder
Retreiving
Questions
1. How were the travelers feeling as they took off in the boat? (p. 238 terrified and
afraid of what was coming up and they were going so fast so and being flung from
side to side)
2. What were they able to see as they started their adventure? (p. 238 Nothing, they
were in complete darkness)
3. What did Doon and Lina find was next as the boat hit shallow water? (p. 244 a path
around the pile of rocks.)
4. What did Poppy find and start chewing on? (p. 245 a book with handwritten writing
in it)
5. Why do you think they decide to read the book later? ( perhaps they are in a hurry
to see what is next and to move forward, also they are hungry and want to eat)
6. What did Lina tell Mrs. Murdo before she left? (p. 247 She told her that she was
taking Poppy to safety because she realized there was no safe place in Ember)
7. What does Lina find in her pocket? (p. 248 her message for Clary)
8. Why is this important? (P. 248 No one knows how to get to where they are)
Chapter 19 Vocabulary
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Splotches
Trill
Cluster
Astonishing
Exhausted
Fragile
Crimson
Questions
1. How long did the sign say they would have to climb? (p. 251 several hours)
2. What did they find when they got to the end of the tunnel? (p. 252 a fresh smell and
a land vast and spacious beyond anything they ever knew, air that moved and a sky
filled with stars and the moon)
3. What were the hundreds of tiny flecks of light in the sky that they saw? (p. 253
stars)
4. What other things are they experiencing that they had never seen, heard, or felt
before? (p. 253-4 sky, wind, stars, moon, bugs, heat, plants, trees)
5. They don’t see any civilization when they get above ground. What are some of their
worries? (p. 254 there may not be people or a city)
6. What do you think they are feeling about all these new experiences? (p. 257
excitement and wonder)
7. They were so excited about the enviroment around them what did they forget to
look at? (p. 257 the book they found)
Chapter 20 Vocabulary
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Ensure
Disaster
Chasm
Creature
Clearing
Gorgeous
Overlapping
Questions
1. Who is writing this journal writing? (one of the original builders of Ember)
2. The author of the journal is packing up but is not allowed to bring what with them?
(p.258 no books and no photographs)
3. The City of Ember was a plan to save humankind from what? (p. 259 Disaster)
4. How many people were joining in this plan? How many men and how many women?
(p 260 100 total, 50 of each and 100 babies)
5. What do Lina and Doon learn from this book? (why people started this underground
civilization, and that there was always a plan for them to come out eventually)
6. What do you think the fruit is they found and are eating? (p. 268 a plum or some
pitted fruit)
7. How did Lina and Doon get their message back to the city of Ember? (p. 269 they
found a small tunnel that went all the way back to Ember and they threw it down
the hole)
8. Who will find the message? (p. 270 Mrs. Murdo)
9. Predict what you think will happen when she finds the message.