Carve The Mark Analysis

In “Carve the Mark” written by Veronica Roth, Akos Kereseth is the son of an oracle, who can see the future, on the nation-planet of Thuvhe; in this universe, the current runs through everything. One day at school, he and his siblings’ fates, something bound to happen, are publicly announced, putting he and his family in danger. His father is killed and Akos and his brother, Eijeh, are brought to the rogue nation of Shotet, located on the same nation-planet but not officially recognized. It is revealed that Eijeh’s fate is to become the next oracle, and Shotet’s leader, Ryzek Noavek, wants to use his gift for himself. Akos, on the other hand, is found to have the gift of resistance to the current and is put into the service of Ryzek’s sister,
Fate undermines everything somebody can do to stop it because it is inevitable. For example, Akos’ fate is to die in service to the Noavek family. This is put into play when Ryzek Noavek’s fate is to die at the hands of the Benesit family, the ruling family of their biggest enemy, Thuvhe. This fate has always been Ryzek’s greatest weakness and he tries to use Eijeh’s power as the oracle to be the first ever to avoid his fate. Cyra thinks to herself, “All my life I had been taught that every fate would be fulfilled, no matter what anyone tried to do to stop it. But that was exactly what he was proposing: he wanted to thwart his own fate by killing the one who was supposed to bring it about. And he had Eijeh to tell him how” (Roth 170). Cyra wholeheartedly believes that Ryzek’s quest to avoid what will happen to him is a waste of time, but he truly believes that he can because he has Eijeh, who is an oracle and can tell the future. Akos and Eijeh’s mother, also being an oracle, puts her visions and the fates at the forefront of her life because it is inherent of an oracle to honor those most. She says, “It is not easy to be a mother and an oracle, or a wife and an oracle. I have been tempted many times. To protect my family at the expense of the greater good. But I must stay the course. I must have faith” (Roth 413). She believes that her job as an oracle who upholds the fates is most important to her, displaying
It was interesting to be able to explore these two main characters so deeply. Akos is a genuinely good person always looking to do the right thing against injustice. On the other hand, Cyra is conflicted, bred to be terrifying and threatening, but really consoling and sweet on the inside. This style of writing is especially present when the two characters have moments together so the reader can see how both Akos and Cyra reacted to what was occuring in the story. The different perspectives were especially interesting when switching back and forth from Akos to Cyra, as chapters told from Akos’ point of view were in third person, and chapters told from Cyra’s point of view were in first person. Cyra’s journey from abused tool of her brother Ryzek to turning against him was fascinating as her character goes through dynamic change. Therefore, the two different points of view allowed the reader to delve deeper into the minds of the two main characters and added a whole new layer of depth to “Carve the