Legend Literary Analysis

In Legend, Marie Lu uses connotative diction that creates an accusing tone in order to elucidate how individuals within a society automatically resort to class hierarchy. She concludes that humans are willing to submit to ignorance in order to live in a society that benefits them. The Republic is a place of extreme economic polarization. High-ranking characters like June and Thomas enjoy lavish lifestyles and fancy events while the poor live in slums and do not receive adequate medical care. Just as importantly, the Republic limits the opportunities that poor people have to succeed. Lu suggests that scores on the Trial are determined by how much money a person has. This is a system that helps the rich get richer and the poor stay poorer. In the text, Lu notes through June, “She did you a favor by not assigning you to the warfront…. She’ll be upset you’re skipping. Won’t she mark it on your record? You don’t want to be kicked out like some street con” (Lu 35). Clearly displayed though this quote citizens who live in poor sectors are perceived to be thieves. These implications serve a purpose in that the people who are living in these circumstances have no way of escaping their economic conditions because of the dehumanized state the slums serve. As a result, some must resort to negative influences and be defined as cons even if there is no evidence to support that poor sectors are all filled with cons. These accusations Lu insinuates through June are that the rich have no hope for the poor and believe that they are all well below academic standards in addition to being thieves. The rich also continue to ignore the situations the deprived live in because of the fear that rebellion will take away from their lavish lifestyles and that they will lose support from their country and the benefits that rich sectors guarantee. Lu alleges through Day, “You seem like nice company, you know. I mean, as long as you don’t have the plague” (Lu 70). The word “seems” implies a very

Cited: Lu, Marie. Legend. Penguin Young Readers Group, 2013. Print.