Elemental Summer Reading
Connor Hickey
What It's All About
Only until later is it revealed that the pirates were not always bad. The leader of the pirates name was Dare. They were depicted as blood thirsty, sadistic monsters, but through their eyes it was quite the opposite. They were once researchers in this chemical apocalyptic aftermath. They would perform studies on the inhabitants of Hatteras Island (Where the people of The Colony lived). These pirates are the one's who came up with the name, "Elementals" for those who possessed these supernatural powers. Put yourself in both Thomas' and Dares' shoes. Thomas nearly throws up at the sight of their experiments on the Guardians and sees this as unmoral and unethical. Dare and his crew are anxious as to what Thomas and everyone else is truly capable of, so they lock them away to make their problems go away.
This book can relate to real life because it has shown what becomes of us when we are presented with something ominous and unfathomable. It is almost our second nature to resort to violence and unnecessary actions when we show inability to cope with the unknown. It has been proven in the book that people fear what cannot be proven with scientific fact and proof. People naturally want to know what it is they are dealing with, they want to know that it is all under control and most importantly, they want to stay ahead of the curb. It is through this fear that drastic and sometimes inhumane decisions are made i.e. the holocaust or the red scare.
If there is one thing I learned it's that there are some things in this world that are not meant to be understood or explained and that sometimes ignorance is bliss.