This was how he would engage in his own bit of rebellion: he leaned against the wooden fence that surrounded the barn and stared at the heavens. Crowded, he thought, and wondered if, perhaps, the abundance was too much; if the weight of holding on was too heavy, and the night, being tired as it was, might one day let go, and all the stars would come tumbling down, leaving only the darkness to stretch across everything.
-- Narrator (Psalms )

Importance: This quotation illustrates Isaiah’s mild, stoical character (in contrast to Samuel’s persistent desire for mutiny), as he takes the opportunity for a quiet “bit of rebellion.” It conveys his sympathy with Nature, onto which he projects his own feelings of weariness. But, in a novel which sets no great store by the stars – and certainly has no praise for “the heavens” – this is also a vision which foreshadows the rebellion at...