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Carabelle Abbas
5/31/17
Barron
Stories With a Hidden Meaning

Humans have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Whether its in a form of a

song, or the form of a folk tail. People tell these stories as a way of teaching others, they teach

these lessons through hidden meanings. In my opinion, a story is worth telling if it has a hidden

meaning. Some stories have many hidden meanings but as long as the reader can find one then

that story is worth telling because not only is the story entertaining but it also teaches you

something.

The Red Queen follows a teenage girl named Mare through her journey of becoming a

silver. Mare is a red blood born with powers of creating electricity. Reds do not have powers

like the silvers. The people who do have powers are the silver bloods. They run the government

and are treated like gods because of their silver blood and powers of manipulation that come

along with it. This book had many plot twists and turns. For example, Maven becomes evil

which was not expected because he was supposed to marry Mare. It is these kinds of plot twists

which keep the reader interested. Another example of this can be seen in the following quote

taken from the book, "Lady Mareena Titanos. My new name echoes through my head as the Red

maids prepare me for the coming onslaught (Aveyard, 88). This type of writing, that the author

puts into the book, is not stating something rather it is engaging the reader to become invested in

the characters and the book as a whole. Once a reader is invested in a character they are more

likely to finish that book or story.

The Red Queen is a story was worth telling because it is entertaining and it has a hidden

meaning; anyone can betray anyone. In my opinion, the meaning of this comes from the the idea
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that everyone wants to get ahead in life. This means that they would be willing to lie, cheat, and

do whatever it takes to get ahead. Take Maven for example, he acted as if he loved Mare and

that he was going to help her and the scarlet guard but it was all an act and game so he could take

the throne of Norta. Maven has betrayed me. No, he was never on my side at all (Aveyard

345). This quote shows that even the ones you think that you can trust might be the ones who

betray you the most. Maven betrayed Mare because of his jealousy of his brother and the

jealousy took over and he was no longer the Maven we thought we had known. Instead, a hidden

meaning is revealed and the reader is, once again, thrust into entertainment. Not only does

hidden meaning create an entertaining story but is also a way for the author to personally connect

with someone and possible teach an important life lesson. For myself, I learned that you can not

trust everyone.

Not only is the book, The Red Queen, full of entertaining hidden meanings it is also has

hidden symbols. For example, the hidden symbol of the blood is the divide between the people.

There are two types of people; the silver blood and the red blood. The slivers are wealthy and

living in mansions while the reds live in poverty struggling to have power and food. If they

didnt have a divide between them they would live in peace. Mare is in between that divide; she

is a red blood with silver powers. Silver and Red, high and low, some will see the truth

(Aveyard 352)". This quote is an example of how Mare identifies the divide between the two

bloods and how it is the only thing keeping them from living united and in peace.

We tell stories to teach lessons, entertain, and convey the hidden meanings of life.

Personally, I feel that each story should have a meaning behind the message that is being sent to

the readers. In addition, I believe that every story needs a compelling plot. If you dont have a
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compelling plot then you will be unable to capture the attention of the readers. In addition,

authors should create characters that readers feel connected, invested, and obligated to. Even

though it is a story, I feel, it is important to have these elements in the book because it ultimately

leads to the reader discovering the meaning of the book or the lesson the author is trying to teach.

The author of The Red Queen has woven all of these elements into her book beautifully. I found

myself unable to put the book down because I enjoyed it so much. Therefore, I highly

recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story rot with hidden meaning and life lessons.

Work Cited:

Aveyard, Victoria. Red Queen. 1st ed. New York: Harper Teen, 2015. Print. Red Queen.