How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The English Patient.
Quote #4
MADOX: By order of the British Government: All international expeditions to be aborted by May 1939.
Prior to the war, the Egyptians and the British worked together, mapping the desert. But national security becomes the most important priority in a war, and the Egyptians don't want the British around making them a target.
Quote #5
MADOX: In a war, if you own the desert, you own North Africa.
ALMÁSY: Own the desert! (scoffs)
War is all about ownership, and we know how Almásy feels about ownership. He hates it. But what is the alternative?
Quote #6
NEWSREEL: Nowhere is there any wild patriotic excitement, but everywhere there is a deep hatred of war.
This movie reel adds some historical context to this point in time. England is reluctant to enter the war, just as Katharine is reluctant to stay in Egypt as war breaks out. But everything is beyond her control.