The Quote of The Book

The Quote of The Book

"The secret of an opal's color lies not in its substance but in its absences." This is a sentence with in the beginning of the book. I did not know what it means before. However, when I finish my book, I began to understand what that means.

According to the book, we know that Kellyanna died in the end. I think at that moment, Ashmo know that the most important thing is his sister, and it is not the opal or anything else. In the beginning of the story, Ashmol seems he doesn’t like Kellyanna because she has two imaged friends. He thinks people are laughing at his family because they have a child like that. People cannot understand Keeyanna about her two friends because no one can see them. However, in the later story, Ashmol began to want to help Kellyanna to find her friends. He thinks Kellyanna will get the sick because these two friends disappeared. Ashmaol tries to make Kellyanna feels better. Even he thinks she is stupid that she believe she has two imaged friends, but she is also his sister. Then, he goes to the dark claim at the midnight and helps Kellyanna to find Pobby and Dingan. In his mind, he believes Pobby and Dingan are real. Then, he find a opal under a big rock. Although Ashmol can use this opal to make his family have a better life, he uses this opal to pay for Kellyanna’s funeral. I think that because he finds that the family member is more important than the better life.

On the other hand, when Ashmol use opal to pay for the funeral to the funeral for Pobby and Dingan. Ashmol’s father did not stop him. He also wants to make Kellyanna to be better. In the beginning of the story, how hard is him to find a opal in the claim. Even if he is called ratter, he still goes to make a new claim on the other place. However, after Kellyanna get the sick and just can lie on the bed, he seems have more humanization. In the courthouse, he talks about Kellyanna’s two imaged friends and told others how grievous his daughter is. Also, he doesn’t stop Ashmol to pay the funeral with the opal. I think that because he thinks his daughter is more important.

I think for this sentence, the opal means the money and the better life; the absences means the family member which is Kellyanna. Ashmol, father,and the members in that village all changed because of Kellyanna’s sick. People do not think father is a ratter anymore; Ashmol likes his sister more and tries to help her; father changes a lot that he doesn’t care about money so much like the beginning. They all want to save Kellyanna’s life. Because if they lose the money, they can use other way to get them back, but if they lose Kellyanna, they have no way to see her anymore. I think that is the meaning of the quote.