Ava Swirzinski

Mrs. Jenkins

EBA English 10

21 Dec. 2018

Dystopian Downfall of ​Cinder

“She was a cyborg and she would never go to the ball” (Meyer 127).​ The novel ​Cinder​,

an obvious spin off of the ever classic Cinderella​, ​follows a young cyborg girl facing an

intergalactic fight as well as forbidden love.​ As she navigates her way through a crumbling

society, we learn about perseverance, loyalty, and the outrageous conditions that Cinder must

defy. In Marissa Meyer’s dystopian novel, ​Cinder,​ she uses the plot to warn her audience about

the threat of discrimination, technology, and government control.

Upon diving into the introduction of the story, we meet a character unlike the people we

see in our society today.​ Cinder is a cyborg,​ ​which is a half human, half machine; ​these cyborgs

often represent someone who is discriminated throughout the story.​ In this future society,

cyborgs ​are co-existing with humans as the minority, and many others perceive them as outcasts.

As mentioned before, this book is a spin off of Cinderella and in this case, Cinder’s separating

trait is her cyborg status. People feared this part of Cinder and often restricted her kind from

public places. They would complain about her mechanic booth smelling bad; however, “Cinder

knew they really just didn’t like being next to ​her”​ (4)​.​ ​Moving along in the story towards a sort

of rising action, ​Cinder,​ ​being a cyborg, ​was volunteered unwillingly by her stepmother for the

cyborg draft​. Due to the reappearance of the plague in the Eastern Commonwealth (future
China), the Royal Medical wing set a draft to test on cyborgs in search of a cure for the plague.

They were,“to act as guinea pigs for antidote testing” (29). Despite the discrimination against

cyborgs, Cinder does not let this hold her back. She instead uses her advanced technology to

navigate through the discriminatory and dystopian world.

Not only does Meyer’s ​Cinder s​ how the dangers and hurt that people feel with

discrimination, it also shows the readers the downfalls of increasing technology. In ​New Beijing,

where our story takes place​, the technology is far from where we are today. Citizens use hovers

to transport, netscreens and port screens for internet purposes, and have ​androids,​ synthetic

organisms made to resemble humans,​ that act as helpers or a sort of pet with personality chips.

However, where the technology becomes a warning to readers is with the incorporation of the

Identification chips (ID chips). These ID chips are implanted into each person’s wrist living on

earth, and can be used to show their identity, store forms of payment, and most disturbing, track

them and their whereabouts. In the rising action of the book, Adri (Cinder’s Stepmother) sends

androids to track her down, which demonstrates the way in which the technology can easily be

used for good and bad. “We have been contacted b​y your legal guardian in regard to your

unauthorized disappearance” (265). Cinder has no freedom and can be controll​ed by the

technology in and outside of her, forcing her to comply with authority of any kind. Transitioning

to the falling action of the book, our protagonist, Cinder rebels against this government enforced

device by removing her chip, “...she pressed the blade into her wrist. The pain bit into her, but

she did​n’t flinch”(316). This action goes against the norm and sets her apart in her damaged and

distorted society. In addition, her decision to defy authority later impacts the story during the

resolution when the wicked Lunar queen wants to capture Cinder. “The cut was still fresh where
she’d started to remove her ID chip before, so they would not be able to track her” (387). We can

clearly see Meyers use of technology as a means of showing us how technology can overthrow

our lives.

As discussed previously, the ​government​ in the society is highly controlling,​ ​which is yet

another warning that the author incorporated into her writing.​ Although the enforced technology

is a huge government control, there is another that stands out as a bigger warning. In addition to

the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth and the rulers of the other countries on Earth, there is

a Queen of Luna, which is a civilization located on the Moon. Queen Levana and the citizens of

the Moon are known as Lunars and are not allowed on Earth as they are a seperate world.

However, in Queen Levana’s search for greater power, she wants to marry into the Eastern

Commonwealth in order to rule Earth eventually. ​Her​ thirst for power is the overarching conflict

and climax in ​Cinder. ​Since Queen Levana is ruthless and cruel and hated by most, she uses the

one large advantage that all lunars have, glamour. Glamour, (aka the “gift”) is a manipulation of

bioelectricity that places thoughts and visions into the heads of others. This glamour reminds me

of some propaganda that we experience in today’s society that can convince us of false things.

Queen Levana uses it to brainwash her people and the people of the Eastern Commonwealth.

“The queen’s sweet smile had turned haughty and controlling...She was brainwashing them. She

had brainwashed her” (205). Even though the government controls of this realm are a fantasy,

the message is clear. If people do not oppose and stand up to government controls, they could

eventually overtake our true values.

By shedding light on the discrimination of others, impact of technology, and controlling

government, Meyer helps inform her audience of potential downfalls in her dystopian world. Her
indirect references show us how our problems and potential problems of today could intensify

and become bigger problems down the road. Innovation and change may seem great in some

ways, but this novel shows us these downfalls and just how extreme things can become.