Difficulty understanding the last sentence of this short piece of news

Question

News piece:

Hundreds of thousands of people have attended the Boston marathon, cheering on the nearly 36,000 competitors one year after tragedy struck.Many spectators chose to cheer on runners from the spot where the two bombs exploded on 15 April 2013, claiming three lives and injuring more than 260 people.Amid tight security on Monday, marathon attendees reported mixed emotions.They said there was a sense of defiance and solidarity, but the memories sparked by that stretch of pavement were difficult to grapple with.

Defiance? Does it have anything to do with solidarity? Is it good choice of word? Defiance? As far as I am concerned, the word "defiance" has to do with perversity. Doing something to show that you do not respect something or someone else. But defiance towards who? The writer did not mention.

Sparked by ? Memories caused by?

Stretch of pavement? ( I did not find it in dictionaries )

At last, What was difficult to grapple with?

Memories sparked by that stretch of pavement? What does the writer mean by saying " memories sparked by that stretch of pavement" ?

Many thanks in advance.

Answer 1

They said there was a sense of defiance and solidarity, but the memories sparked by that stretch of pavement were difficult to grapple with.

I think the defiance they felt had to do with defying the intent of the bomber. The bomber wanted to scare people away with his bomb. The bomber wanted these people to feel terror and to be traumatized and to never attend the event again. The defiance here is these people defying the bomber. By returning to the scene of the bombing and not being afraid, they are defying the bomber and his evil intent.

"Sparked by" here means "caused by". The definition from the dictionary is "provide the stimulus for (a dramatic event or process)"

"Stretch" here means "length" or "long area". The definition from the dictionary (this is the noun form) is "2. a continuous area or expanse of land or water"

"Stretch of pavement" here is synonymous with "road" or "street". The author is trying to be descriptive and vary his word choice.

"Memories sparked by that stretch of pavement" means memories that returned when the runners returned to the road where the finish line was. The bombs went off there so a lot of memories are associated with that road.

Answer 2

Here is the explanation, in parts: Defiance: It that the runners were not afraid to run the marathon again, since the risk of another terrorist attack is always possible. By defying this danger, the runners were showing their solidarity to the victims and their families, by not showing fear.

Stretch of pavement: means a length, fraction, or part of the total route. To be exact, it is the part of the route, where the attack took place.

Spark: a spark is a bolt of electricity for example, something sudden and intense, like the memories that might come up to any athlete's mind when running through the exact "stretch of pavement" where many people died.

In English, native speakers use many expressions like these that you will get to understand as you progress. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I think the sense of defiance and solidarity is within the article: “Many spectators chose to cheer on runners from the spot where the two bombs exploded on 15 April 2013”

Stretch of pavement is very clearly explained by both Admiraladama and Josh Carnivore.

As for the “the memories sparked by that stretch of pavement were difficult to grapple with”, I think it is a figure of speech, a metaphor which refers to people’s mind penetrated by the flames (figuratevly) of the two bombs exploded.

Even if there was a sense of defiance and solidarity the situation created would be difficult to cope with.