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Atro
A Thuvian scientist on Urras. It is Chifoilisk who warns Shevek that he is being “bought” by the Ioti scientists, and advises him to be careful of Pae especially. Chifoilisk tells Shevek never to write down his precious General Temporal Theory, lest the Ioti government swoop in and snatch it away. In this way, Chifoilisk is an ally of Shevek’s. Both Chifoilisk and Shevek’s socialist ideals make them suspicious figures in the eyes of the Ioti government—and, as such, both Shevek and Chifoilisk are themselves suspicious of their surroundings and the Ioti scientists with whom they work at the university.
Chifoilisk Quotes in The Dispossessed
The The Dispossessed quotes below are all either spoken by Chifoilisk or refer to Chifoilisk. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
It was difficult for him to distrust the people he was with. He had been brought up in a culture that relied deliberately and constantly on human solidarity, mutual aid. Alienated as he was in some ways from that culture, and alien as he was to this one, still the lifelong habit remained: he assumed people would be helpful. He trusted them. But Chifoilisk’s warnings, which he had tried to dismiss, kept returning to him. His own perceptions and instincts reinforced them. Like it or not, he must learn distrust. He must be silent; he must keep his property to himself; he must keep his bargaining power.
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Chapter 9
Quotes
On Anarres [Shevek] had chosen, in defiance of the expectation of his society, to do the work he was individually called to do. To do it was to rebel: to risk the self for the sake of society. Here on Urras, that act of rebellion was a luxury, a self-indulgence. To be a physicist in A-Io was to serve not society, not mankind, not the truth, but the State. On his first night in this room he had asked them, challenging and curious, “What are you going to do with me?” He knew now what they had done with him. Chifoilisk had told him the simple fact. They owned him.
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Chifoilisk Quotes in The Dispossessed
The The Dispossessed quotes below are all either spoken by Chifoilisk or refer to Chifoilisk. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
It was difficult for him to distrust the people he was with. He had been brought up in a culture that relied deliberately and constantly on human solidarity, mutual aid. Alienated as he was in some ways from that culture, and alien as he was to this one, still the lifelong habit remained: he assumed people would be helpful. He trusted them. But Chifoilisk’s warnings, which he had tried to dismiss, kept returning to him. His own perceptions and instincts reinforced them. Like it or not, he must learn distrust. He must be silent; he must keep his property to himself; he must keep his bargaining power.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
On Anarres [Shevek] had chosen, in defiance of the expectation of his society, to do the work he was individually called to do. To do it was to rebel: to risk the self for the sake of society. Here on Urras, that act of rebellion was a luxury, a self-indulgence. To be a physicist in A-Io was to serve not society, not mankind, not the truth, but the State. On his first night in this room he had asked them, challenging and curious, “What are you going to do with me?” He knew now what they had done with him. Chifoilisk had told him the simple fact. They owned him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
