Reading Response #2: Article 5

 

In a futuristic society, the world we used to cherish is now abandoned. Life in the United States used to be so different.  Instead of the Bill of Rights there is the Moral Statutes which consist of Articles. If broken, the soldiers can arrest the violators.  Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is arrested along with her mother. Ember has to cope with the flawed system as she struggles to stay alive.

 As Ember goes through multiple challenges, she feels herself beginning to change. She is forced to do things she wouldn’t think of doing in her old life. She struggles to find a line between right and wrong when it comes to survival.

 

“I focused on the gun. I would show him what needed to be done.

“Like you even know what to do with that,” he mocked

I glanced down, flicking the safety off.

“It’s a nine millimeter, isn’t it? I just pull back the slide, aim, and fire.”

With a steady hand I chambered the first round. Click.” (Page 353)

 

If placed in hard situations, I believe it is a natural instinct to fight. People change, but not through will. People change through circumstance. If the situation gets rough, people become what they wouldn’t dream of becoming. Witnessing this transformation is something a lot of authors depend on because its interesting and says something about the human condition. Where is the breaking point when unthinkable things are necessary to move on?

Article 5 is different in a way that it doesn’t have a major goal. While reading the story, I noticed that it’s just a transition from day to day, not over the course of months or years. I was easy to follow and very captivating. Overall, it's an amazing book and I cannot wait to read the sequels.