"Prayers were held in Assembly Hall. We all perched in rows on wooden benches while teachers sat up on the platform in armchairs, facing us"
- Roald Dahl
About this Quote
This quote from Roald Dahl paints a brilliant image of a spiritual gathering in Assembly Hall. The trainees are seated in rows on wooden benches, while the instructors rise on the platform in armchairs, looking down on them. This recommends that the instructors remain in a setting of authority, and that the pupils are anticipated to be considerate and also conscientious. Using the word 'perched' indicates that the pupils are uneasy and also worried, as if they are set down on the side of their seats. The ambience is most likely to be austere and also reverent, as the trainees are gathered together to hope. The quote conveys a sense of reverence as well as respect, as well as a feeling of anticipation and assumption. It is an effective tip of the relevance of petition and also the power of cumulative worship.
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"Art owes its origin to Nature herself... this beautiful creation, the world, supplied the first model, while the original teacher was that divine intelligence which has not only made us superior to the other animals, but like God Himself, if I may venture to say it"
"I went to school at this log school house. A white woman was my teacher, I do not remember her name. My father had to pay her one dollar a month for me. Us kids that went to school did not have desks, we used slates and set on the hued down logs for seats"
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