This was the laughter of youth, of souls who had not yet come to grips with where they lived, who did not yet feel the press of the earth on all sides, who in their minds were not buried at all, but alive.
-- Narrator (Part 1, Chapter 1 paragraph 5)

Importance: Holston listens to the laughter of children as he climbs the stairs of the silo his final time. Although the children do not realize there is an alternative to their lifestyle, Holston has learned this truth. It has taken away his joy at being alive. His years in the silo have also led Holston to the conclusion that people were not meant to live underground.

Holston imagined a day when half of the pixels were stark white, and then generations later when only a few gray and brown ones remained, then a mere dozen, the world having flipped to a new state, the people of the silo...
-- Narrator (Part 1, Chapter 2 paragraph 5)