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Unificationists
In some ways the term “nationalist” has the same meaning in the novel as it does generally. Besź and Ul Qoman nationalists describe themselves as patriots who want to prioritize their own city-state over all else. At the same time, the nationalists also have a goal that is specific to their context—in opposition to the unificationists, they want Besźel and Ul Qoma to remain entirely separate and distinct.
Nationalists Quotes in The City & the City
The The City & the City quotes below are all either spoken by Nationalists or refer to Nationalists. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 23
Quotes
“Yorjavic didn’t breach, Borlú. He shot over the border, in Copula Hall. He never breached. Lawyers might have an argument: was the crime committed in Besźel where he pulled the trigger, or Ul Qoma where the bullets hit? Or both? He held out his hands in an elegant who cares? “He never breached. You did. So you are here, now, in the Breach.”
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Nationalists Term Timeline in The City & the City
The timeline below shows where the term Nationalists appears in The City & the City. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
...Borlú, listing all the ways in which Mahalia’s work was suspicious. Corwi comments that the nationalists truly are “batshit.” Gosz threatens to get Borlú fired. As a final act of intimidation,...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...promises that she and her husband are going to track down all the unificationists and nationalists, because they are sure one of them murdered Mahalia. After hanging up, Borlú sleeps for...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...previous night, he spent hours watching interrogation tapes, footage of Corwi, his lovers, and the nationalists. Breach told him that Yorjavic’s apartment was searched and there was no evidence associating him...
(full context)
Chapter 27
...follow them. Up on the top floor, they spot four people: two who look like ultra-nationalists, a man in a suit, and someone else not properly in view. As they get...
(full context)
...him of murder and asking why a “liberal sellout” like himself would be hanging around nationalists. Buric replies, “We’re all patriots.” Ashil attempts to arrest Buric, but the suited man intervenes,...
(full context)
...van in order to stop Breach from taking over the case of Mahalia’s murder. The nationalists still have their guns raised, but Borlú doesn’t think they’ll shoot. He announces that he...
(full context)
The nationalists, meanwhile, fire at Ashil, and Borlú shouts that they are under arrest. He attends to...
(full context)
Chapter 28
...panic, and sent the bomb in order to try to trick Borlú into thinking that nationalists were responsible for Mahalia’s murder. Borlú comments that Bowden staged attacks on himself in order...
(full context)
