Describe a character you find especially fascinating. How does the book make the character
come to life? What makes the character complex or unique?
The Wings of Fire series showcases a different protagonist/perspective in each book. In the Hidden Kingdom, We see the perspective of Glory. It was prophesized that 5 dragons would stop an ongoing war. Those 5 dragons are meant to be Glory and her friends. However, Glory is not one of the dragons in the prophecy. She is a replacement for one of the five that died before they hatched. Glory is a Rainwing, and they have a reputation for being lazy. Her whole life, Glory is told that she is lazy and useless. This shapes her character and gives her a reason to prove herself. This makes her a unique character in the story, as we see her perspective on how she was treated, and how she feels.
Glory is part of a prophecy that she was never meant to be in. She wished she could have been raised in her own home, the rainforest, instead of trying to stop a war that she isn't meant to stop. This is shown by a passage in the novel. "...Webs had decided to replace it with a RainWing. It was his fault Glory had been forced to grow up under a mountain, far from her home and family, learning about a prophecy that didn't even have a place for her in it"(Sutherland 40). This passage shows that Glory feels that she doesn't belong with her friends, and that she misses the family she never knew. She also feels resentment to her guardians for abducting her from the RainWings.
On numerous occasions, Glory questions the meaning of her life. She was meant to be raised by her family, but she was abducted by Webs, one of the people responsible for carrying out the prophecy. She was raised just like the other dragonets of the prophecy, but she wasn't one of them. She wonders who she is, and what she is meant to do in the world. This is shown by another passage: "If she was meant to save the world, then why hadn't the prophecy called for a RainWing? And if she wasn't necessary for this big grand destiny, then what was the point of her life at all?"(Sutherland 40). This passage shows that Glory is trying to find the meaning of her life, and what her destiny is.
Glory also speculates about her family and her parents a lot. Growing up, she never had a family other than the 4 dragonets. She didn't know anyone from her tribe. Her and her friends always dreamed about what their parents would be like. She hoped that her parents weren't lazy like everyone said RainWings were. This is proven in a passage: "Both Clay and Tsunami had been disappointed. Maybe parent dragons were always disappointing...especially when you'd spent years dreaming about what they might be like"(Sutherland 53). Unfortunately, she is ultimately disappointed because the RainWings don't keep track of who laid which eggs.
-Belal Alawini
This book has a very interesting narrative and premise and I think you mentioned them both really well! The mental turmoil of being a replacement for another in a huge prophesy and the purpose of that persons life leaning from useful to useless depending on the situation is so complex and the way you described it so well done. From your description alone this book faces a lot of complex and mentally taxing things that would make it a good and thoughtful read.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you described the main character and her struggles about being lazy and useless. In addition the quotes that you add match perfectly with what you were tying to state. I can really imagine what Glory is going though.
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