“sandstone walls” and “crumbling gates”

[meliss]

Hi. Quotation marks indicate that these are kind of well-known concepts, but not to me. Could you help me, please, why these “sandstone walls” and “crumbling gates”? Thank you.
"During the late 20th century, “sandstone walls” and “crumbling gates” surrounded by craggy hills hinted at its [Pakistan] history as the forward base of the British empire." (Carter Malkasian, The American War in Afghanistan)

 

[Cunning Fox]

I don't understand the question. Do you want to know what "sandstone walls" and "crumbling gates" are or why they're in quotes?

 

[meliss]

I don't understand the question. Do you want to know what "sandstone walls" and "crumbling gates" are or why they're in quotes?

Yes, why they're in quotes and how they hinted at Pakistan's history as the forward base of the British empire.

 

[Cunning Fox]

In fact, there might be many reasons why the author put them in quotes: it might be a reference to something else, his sheer preference, his personal take on the walls and gates or so-called shudder quotes (if my memory serves me correctly). "Shudder quotes" (I've just used quotes to signify the term) is when writers put quotes around words they want to distance themselves from. It’s a way of implying that you’re using a term in an unusual way or that you don’t necessarily approve of it or it's not how you see it.

Hence, my best guess would be is that the author did that because someone else had called them "sandstone walls" and "crumbling gates" and the author simply repeated "the terms" after them even though it wasn't the most precise description of the walls and gates.

I hope this helps.

 

[5jj]

In the original, there is a superscript number after the word 'empire' indicating a footnote. I imagine the reference is to a book or paper from which the words in quotes have been quoted directly.

I don't know how these would hint at anything.

 

[meliss]

I imagine the reference is to a book or paper from which the words in quotes have been quoted directly.

Maybe. The reference is: Ashley Edgette, “A Mecca for Militants: An Examination of the Development of International Terrorism in Peshawar, Pakistan, 1970–2010,” Hinckley Journal of Politics (January 1, 2010): 16.

 

[5jj]

The words in quotes do indeed appear there on page 16.

 

[Tdol]

Sandstone walls are common enough in the UK, so they would have built similar walls in places in Pakistan. The gates are, presumably, crumbling because the empire days are long over. It sounds like a reminder of the fall of empires, possibly aimed at America's involvement in Afghanistan.