47 pages • 1 hour read
Tui T. SutherlandDarkness of Dragons
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Loyalty, Family, and Friendship
The theme of Loyalty, Family, and Friendship is shaped by the constraints of a Bildungsroman, a genre that depicts the protagonist’s quest for Identity and Self-Discovery. From Qibli’s perspective, this theme is complicated by issues of trauma and power from his childhood that continue to shape his understanding of the world. He must consider what constitutes a tribe that he can be loyal to while navigating the competing loyalties that arise with new, intertribal friendships.
Navigating new relationships requires Qibli to recover from the trauma of his abusive childhood. His understanding of family is skewed by the cruelty and violence typical in his family, which lacks the love and devotion of many families. Qibli is rescued by Thorn because he is neither loved nor wanted by Cobra. Likewise, Vulture’s desire to see Qibli return to the Scorpion Den is based on Vulture’s greed and desire to control those around him rather than respect between family members. Qibli’s protection of his siblings and his attempt to save Cobra demonstrate a longing for safety and acceptance. When his continuing loyalty to family conflicts with the interests of Thorn and the Outclaws, he is forced to accept a new notion of what it means to be loyal. Qibli’s choice to protect Thorn represents a new understanding of loyalty as based on reciprocal relationships, and his ability to recognize Cobra’s scheme to assassinate Thorn shows that Qibli is healing from his traumatic childhood. He embraces the idea that he can create his own family.
Despite ongoing abuses of power that result in long term instability, the tribal system maintains a status quo through devotion to the royal families similar to Qibli’s devotion to his family. His attempt to protect Thorn from Onyx’s challenge for the throne reveals Qibli’s bias towards the status quo and an inability to recognize the possibility of change. Likewise, the Jade Mountain Prophecy foreshadows the vulnerability of Jade Mountain Academy, a symbol of intertribal unity that challenges loyalty to a single tribe. The war that Darkstalker instigates between the NightWings and IceWings symbolizes the tribal loyalty and xenophobia that threatens the fragile peace in Pyrrhia.
Identity and Self-Discovery
The opening chapter of the novel illustrates Qibli’s internal insecurities, desires, and competing loyalties alongside the external narrative action. The limited third-person perspective is a pivotal characteristic of the theme Identity and Self-Discovery. The perspective provides the protagonist’s thoughts and reflections on important events, while creating a measure of ambiguity regarding his interpretation of events. The reader cannot be sure if Qibli’s view of motivations, expressions, and reactions is entirely correct, or if these thoughts are another example of Qibli’s insecurity. The perspective signals that the story is about a process of acceptance and realization ideal for the theme of Identity and Self-Discovery. The reader is continually encouraged to draw conclusions alongside the protagonist.
Several important characters are archetypes within Qibli’s quest, which follows the pattern of the hero’s journey. These characters facilitate Qibli’s process of maturation toward adulthood. As the main protagonist and hero, Qibli remains central throughout the novel. The other characters move in and out of the based upon the stage of the story they represent and enhance. Thorn and Winter are important within the “Storm of Sands” cycle, remaining in the foreground while Darkstalker and Moon are backgrounded. Winter, Moon, and Darkstalker are important figures that facilitate Qibli’s development in the “King of Shadows.” Darkstalker is the key character in the final stage of Qibli’s journey in the “Light of Dragons.”
Qibli’s growth is a process of overcoming insecurities that developed during his time in the Scorpion Den. These insecurities figure heavily within the themes of Power, Corruption, and the Abuse of Power and the Loyalty, Family, and Friendship. Qibli’s series of self-discoveries over his journey result in a sense of self-worth that also opens him to the worth of dragons without magical power, a concept that Qibli struggles to accept. Darkstalker also struggles to accept it, rejecting a life without magic. The struggle that Qibli and Darkstalker demonstrate in accepting the value of non-powered dragons fits within the theme Power, Corruption, and the Abuse of Power. They are not certain they have value unless they possess powers denied to most dragons. This is the most central theme within the Bildungsroman.
Power, Corruption, and the Abuse of Power
There are three types of power in the novel: tribal (official), criminal (unofficial), and magical. The royal family constitutes official power and authority in dragon culture. Winter provides an obvious example of the royal family, and his banishment alludes to the abuses of power associated with most royals in dragon culture. Winter is forced to concede that the treatment of wounded dragons and soldiers in the Scorpion Den is the same in the IceWing Kingdom, creating a comparison between the abuse of power by official culture and the corruption of power by the criminal element in dragon society. Thorn represents hope within the official system. She assumes power to address the corruption that had overrun the SandWing Kingdom. She feels connected to the Eye of Onyx that judges the worth of the queen and explains the Eye “has chosen commoners over royalty before” (175). She adds that “Oasis and her descendants […] aren’t any more royal” than any other dragon, establishing the royal line as a myth (175). This sequence establishes Thorns legitimacy as Queen of the SandWings.
Vulture and the Scorpion Den represent criminal or unofficial power in Pyrrhia. One of Vulture’s key characteristics is an ability to manipulate dragons by twisting ideas and making lies seem like truths. His power and control rely upon moral ambiguity, or a lack of certainty about whether something is right or wrong. The similarities between unofficial, criminal culture and official, royal culture empower Vulture’s moral relativism. The result is that criminal corruption and the abuse of power by royal dragons become synonymous.
The final category of power is magical. Qibli demonstrates extreme ambivalence to magic, animus dragons, and animus-touched objects. He is suspicious of Darkstalker’s power and motivations. While he sees similarities between himself and the legendary dragon, he is convinced that he would not abuse power in the same way that Darkstalker does. A similar example emerges later in the novel, establishing this general lack of self-awareness. Once he arrives at the SandWing palace, Qibli fears the Eye of Onyx will kill Thorn in favor of a legitimate heir. Qibli uses Anemone’s animus touched weather-changing bracelets to disrupt the challenge. He causes a sandstorm that buries the palace, and demonstrates his inability to control the magic, while his fear of the Eye demonstrates his continuing distrust of magic in general. This inability almost leads to tragedy when he attempts to stop the war between the IceWings and NightWings using the same bracelets during the climax of the novel. Qibli accepts his limitations and trusts Anemone to control the bracelets while he relies upon his innate skills and abilities to help end the war. This achievement leads to a better understanding of magic and power. Qibli rejects Darkstalker’s offer to give him magic.
