How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples. Any visible expression of nature would surely be pelleted with his jeers. (6.3)
Ah, the humanity! This is, for our money, the most important line in the story—a crucial turning point in the way the men understand their connection to the universe. The fact that "nature does not regard him as important" sounds like a pretty harsh realization to come to, but it's one of the biggest takeaways we can get from this story. Don't worry, Mr. Correspondent, at least we think you're pretty important.
Quote #8
Then, if there be no tangible thing to hoot he feels, perhaps, the desire to confront a personification and indulge in pleas, bowed to one knee, and with hands supplicant, saying: "Yes, but I love myself." (6.4)
The next line continues the re-arrangement of things. Facing a big gaping hole where a Loving Universe once was, the men step forward to fill it themselves, saying, "No one up there loves me? Well, fine, I don't care, because I love myself! I'm important because I say I am!" It re-establishes man's place in the universe, as he stands up and proclaims, "I exist!"
Quote #9
The light in the north had mysteriously vanished, but the correspondent took his course from the wide-awake captain. (6.21)
This is a really nice metaphor for the new perspective the men have on the universe. They no longer look to a higher power in the heavens ("the light in the north"), which has either abandoned them ("mysteriously vanished"), or never existed in the first place. Instead, they look to each other, and to the captain, who is directly in front of them, who is "wide-awake," and whom they know they can rely on.