How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
"[T]he clocks chimed the hour of the inescapable game; the dreamer was running across the sand of a desert in the rain, but he could recall neither the figures nor the rules of chess. At that point, Hladik awoke. The din of the rain and the terrible clocks ceased." (1)
Starting a story with dreams really puts us in alternate reality mode, don't you think? And this dream in particular sounds super ominous – we're pretty sure this whole thing won't end well.
Quote #2
Each enactment lasted several seconds; when the circle was closed, Hladik would return, unendingly, to the shivering eve of his death. (3)
Eek! The countless death-imaginations that Jaromir experiences in his mind are almost worse than the actual execution.
Quote #3
Then it occurred to him that reality seldom coincides with the way we envision it beforehand; he inferred, with perverse logic, that to for see any particular detail is in fact to prevent its happening. (3)
Jaromir starts to play with the idea of fate in his head, and attempts to control his future by a process of elimination: if he can imagine it, it probably won't happen. Do you think his logic makes sense?