This novel has an ironic ending. Irony means there is a contradiction between what happens in the novel, and what is expected to happen. If we look at the hero and the villain at several points in the story, it helps us to see the irony of the novel.

Instructions

Look at the events in the chart below. Beside the event, place a checkmark in the box to show if the character is a hero or a villain at that point in the story. If the answer isn't clear, put a question mark in the box, or leave it blank.

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guided practice 2.2B 3 pdf

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Did you find it easy or difficult to determine if David was a hero or a villain during the events listed in the chart? Certainly he did some heroic things, especially when he was younger, such as trying to keep Sophie safe even though she was a mutant. Yet he did some silly things too, when he was a teenager, like not preparing for their escape. David needed to be rescued a lot: by Sophie, who knocked Alan out with a rock; by Rosalind, who woke him up when they had to leave Waknuk and was prepared for the escape; by Sophie again who finds him in the forest, and by the Sealander woman who comes for them all.

So why is he the hero? David is an unlikely hero because of his weaknesses, but his strength is his belief that people should not be punished for their differences. This conviction gave him the courage to flee from his community, to face the unknown in the Fringes, and to choose to live in a new world where his ability could be a strength, not a weakness. David is a hero with human strengths and weaknesses. He's a fairly normal teenager, with some great qualities. You could call him an "everyday hero."

The irony of the story is emphasized by David's success at the end. The Sealander woman tells the group that the race of the Old People will eventually die out because they are not as advanced as the people who can send thought-shapes. Yet David's father and many people in his community fiercely believe that they must protect themselves against all people who are different, so that they will be stronger. This is ironic, because their beliefs make them weaker.

In the end, the most fanatical rule-followers, including David's father, hasten their own deaths by being part of the search party that is trying to capture the group; they die in their struggle to get to them, overcome by the Sealanders who are stronger. In a further irony, the weakest group in the battle is the thought-shapers, yet because they could communicate with the Sealanders through Petra, they succeed.

Go to Writing on the Run! and complete the tutorial and exercises on "Apostrophe."