Deception In Red Queen

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Pages: 3

The act of deception in life is a monumental building block, impacting the way a person lives. In Red Queen, written by Victoria Aveyard, Mare Barrow is a 17 year old girl from the Stilts, living in a world separated by blood color. Being a poverty-stricken Red in the world of wealthy Silvers, she solely relies on thieving to earn her and her family's keep. Newfound powers of electricity causes Mare to be in a dangerous situation; she has to live as a Silver or alternatively die. Her newly betrothed, a prince named Maven, fights for her commitment, seemingly in need of a companion. Because of her predicament, Mare is forced to choose between trust or alternatively heedfulness. Trust will consequently come with weakness, while heedfulness causes …show more content…
Maven's deceit leaves Mare heartbroken and furious, but she realizes the truth of wise words someone once told her. "I am finally learning my lesson. Anyone can betray anyone" (Aveyard 338). By placing her trust and loyalty in the prince, it left him with power over her heart. The loyalty that she had for Maven destroyed their relationship, furthermore slightly damaging any relationships she has to come. Mare's heart is shattered once by the mistake of loyalty, so she begins a new path of hesitant trust. In the article Loyalty by John Kleinig, it states, "Loyalty gives us a commitment to securing or restoring the productivity of socially valuable institutions or affiliations" (Kleinig). In the thoughts of Kleinig, loyalty is the glue that holds all relationships together. Contradicting that is the idea that loyalty is the exact thing that destroys relationships. When loyalty is established, it exposes weakness. That instability is often taken advantage of, inflicting ruin on the relationship. In Red Queen, Mare Barrow's vulnerability is used against her by her soon to be husband. Being that she desired to have close, meaningful relationships, it tore Mare apart when Maven took advantage of her. While some people see loyalty as a strong foundation for an affinity, others keep their heart guarded so they aren't