“We ask of you an impossible combination of traits: ironclad scruples and a willingness to violate them;“An abiding love for your country and a willingness to consort with individuals who are working actively to destroy it;
What country do they have an abiding love for? These people are put in extremely difficult situations.
“Some of you will not survive, but those who do will be heroes.
why does it sound they are referencing to spy work
When you know that a person is violent and ruthless, you will see violent ruthlessness in such basic things as his swim stroke.
it's interesting ruthlessness is something that be seen in everyday life. I never would have thought of that
When you succeed, a certain sharpness will go out of his eyes.
She seems to be talking about seducing powerful men and what is the proper way to go about doing that.
However, if he had set out a little later or a little earlier, he might have avoided disaster. Or if, after picking up the child, he had pedalled faster or slower, or if he had spoken longer with the woman at the nursery school, or if, on the way, he had run into a friend and stopped to talk . . .
My uncle used to tell me about a friend of his who unfortunately was killed from a falling tree on the road several miles from their house. He used to say " If he only would have brushed his teeth for a few seconds longer or a few seconds short he would still be alive". When unfortunate events happen in an instant, it can be easy to dwell on the untimely precision of that moment.
Everyone saw it—he was trying to kill himself by riding into the bus!
I found this to be one of the more interesting quotes in this story. Why would the drivers immediate reaction be to say that the cyclist was attempt to commit suicide? It's much more likely that he legitimately didn't see the bus. Is the bus driver trying to keep the blame off of him? Why not just say that he was unable to stop in time.
As the bus gets closer and closer, its horn gets louder and louder, and then there is a piercing screech of brakes. The bicycle is still moving forward. The bus is trying to stop, but it, too, continues its ominous movement, like a wall closing in.
this description allows the reader to get an excellent idea of how the scene may have felt to an observer. It helps the reader to step into the observer.