Over the course of several free reading days I read Prodigy, the sequel to Legend by Marie Lu. In Prodigy Day and June the main characters. June Iparis the fifteen year-old military prodigy is on the run with Day, the 15 year old guerilla revolutionary with whom she’s fallen in love with is on a mission to change their society. In the previous book June and a political group called the Patriots saved Day from being executed as a traitor to the Republic. When June and Day arrive in Vegas, the unimaginable occurs: Elector Primo passes away and is replaced by his son Anden. The two join a group of Patriot rebels ready to aid Day in rescuing his brother and provide passage to the Colonies as the Republic approaches instability. The two learn that the patriot leader Razor, with whom they were collaborating, was actually a Republican posing as a patriot after being given the task of killing the new elector Anden. Razor gave the go-ahead for a scheme to depose Anden as Elector and replace him with him in the Republic Senate.
A theme strongly presented in the book is not everything you see is true. This theme is illustrated by the characters Anden and Razor, the leaders of their respective party groups. Everyone thought Razor, the Patriots' leader, had good intentions and was a trustworthy man who wanted to change the government at the start of the novel, but it turned out he didn't and was a Republican secret agent. Anden, the new Republican leader who took over after his father was killed, wants to bring about change, but citizens are skeptical given how his father treated them.
At the start of the novel, Day's faith in Anden is shaky. It could have been because he envied June and Anden's relationship, but it could also have been because of how the Republican treated his family. He found it difficult to trust these people after his mother and brother were murdered and Eden, his younger brother, was subjected to an illness trial. Day says, “Yes. I would be glad to see Anden dead,”(Lu 263). This passage from the text depicts Day's desire to kill Anden and carry out Razor's assassination plot because he wants Anden dead after everything he's been through as a consequence of his father's actions. June, on the other hand, was convinced that Anden truly desired change in their country.
Anden is aware that the Republican does not trust him, and he wishes to earn their trust. Anden says, “The people of the Republic assume that I’m their enemy. That I’m the same man my father was. That I don’t want this country to change. They think I’m an empty figurehead, a puppet who simply inherited a throne through my father’s will”(Lu 148) The citizens believe that Anden is like his father in that he does not want to change the country and prefers that injustice continue, although he does not. Anden also says,“I’m not. But if I stay alone…I remain the only one left, then I can’t change anything. If I stay alone, I am the same as my father.”(Lu 148). He wants to see change, but he knows he can't do it alone. He requires support to achieve change, which he can obtain by gaining the trust of republicans through the support of Day and June. As a result, he informs June of his intentions, allowing Eden to gain Day's trust. Day didn't believe him until Anden let Eden go, which was broadcast live on television just for Day to see. Day chose to help Anden in gaining the trust of the Republican people after he let Eden go. Day was surprised at first that Anden let Eden go; he was convinced that Anden was just like his father and would maintain the same government.However after Anden let Eden go, Day was able to trust Anden and assist Anden in gaining the trust of the people.
This theme can also be seen in Razor. Razor is initially depicted as the patriots' leader, but it is later revealed that Razor aspired to be elector and was a Republican soldier. Razor was a patriot until he was caught and converted to a republican; now he wants to be the new elector and keep things the same. June realizes this and calls an end to the plan to assassinate the elector. Day, on the other hand, is unaware of the situation until his friend Kaede informs him. Kaede informs Day:
He got caught working for the Patriots a couple of years ago. So he made a deal with Congress: He leads the Patriots into killing Anden, the young revolutionary spitfire, and Congress forgets about his traitorous ties. At the end of it all, Razor gets to be the new Elector- and with you and June working for him, he comes off like the people’s hero or something. The public would think that the Patriots took over the government, when it’s really only the Republic all over again. Razor doesn’t want the United States to be restored –he just wants to preserve himself. And he’ll join whatever’s side is most convenient to achieve that. (Lu 309)
This exemplifies that Razor was not who he seemed to be. Everyone thought he wanted to change the government and take action, but it turned out he didn't; he wanted power for himself. While Anden wanted to change, it was difficult for people to trust him because of his father's actions. Razor, whom everyone expected to be the good leader, ended up being the antagonist, while Anden, whom we expected to be like his father, ended up being the next good elector.
This theme of not believing everything you see is shown through the characters Razor and Anden. At first, the characters and I assumed Razor wanted to change the government and that killing Anden would be a good place to start, but it turned out to be the opposite. Anden was the one who wanted to change the place, whereas Razor preferred things to stay the same. The theme of never trusting anyone runs throughout the novel in various scenarios, but these two stood out to me. It was also a recurring theme throughout the book series and in this novel.
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