Research Essay
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is a fictional work based on an imaginary period where human beings have gone to the space to colonize other planets. The work revolves around Darrow, who is hardworking, obedient to the Mars’ rules, loving, and is a member of the less superior clan and is often mistreated, abused, and executed. The authorities are so tough to the people of his clan, and they have no power over it, and any form of rebellion is punishable by death. The plot appears similar to my life story of growing in a minor tribe where we are discriminated by color, where we do not have rights like the other people, and where members of my society are killed extra-judicially, especially those who rebel against the system. Again, despite the hard work, we receive poor service delivery compared to others, and this is precisely the society Darrow strives in.
Darrow portrays his hardworking capacity during work in the mines, where they extract helium 3. Darrow works in a scorching environment, and he sweats so much in his brow, and at one point, he accidentally hits a gas pocket (Brown 23). The rules governing the work are that in such situations, a ScanCrew must assess the risk before a person is allowed to proceed. Darrow does not wait for the ScanCrew to arrive; he instead climbs to determine the risk himself because he is afraid their competitors would have much output than his team. That shows excellent hard work and determination. Darrow was an obedient character who took responsibilities and who always worked hard (Laarej Gargallo 7). The case reminds me of my work at a local restaurant where I served the highest number of clients, and a particular day I bought two expensive glasses I had accidentally broken.
Darrow was a loving person, and he had a girlfriend called Eo until she was executed for singing a forbidden song (Brown 43). The part connects to the execution of his father, who led a rebellion group. Both killings were ordered by ArchGovernor, who ruled the planet. Despite the hard work and obedience, the reds had they were subjected to a brutal ruling by the ArchGovernor (Lewis et al. 17). This connects to the killing of my uncle, a human rights activist, and the perpetrators were never taken into books until today.
Darrow did not take revenge against the ArchGovernor even after joining a rebel group. Darrow collaborated with Mustang to win over all other houses during their trial in the elite institute (Brown 76). Darrow was suave, and he made alliances that assured him victory. After the win, the ArchGovernor pleaded with him to become his surrogate son, who would be appointed to an influential position in the governor, and he accepted. Darrow did not take revenge against the ArchGovernor despite all the evil he had done to his father and his girlfriend. He forgot all the pain and the pain of his clan members to collaborate with their greatest oppressor (Clothier 51). This connected to my real-life story when I sat vowed to work with the town mayor, who is believed to have ordered the killing of my uncle and the many killings in our society. I promised to accept that it is difficult to change the system.
Red Rising is a story of a boy from a clan called red who rose from the bottom to become a surrogate of the Archbishop. Darrow was a hardworking young man who went through pain and suffering of losing his loved ones and eventually failing to revenge against it. The lesson is that we do not need to stand for everyone or avenge what matters is the ability to overcome challenges and emerge winners despite the obstacles.
References
Brown, Pierce. “Pierce Brown.” (1961).
Laarej Gargallo, Arif. “Science Fiction as a Representation of Society: Parallels and Intent in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising.” (2019).
Lewis, Courtland, and Kevin McCain, eds. Red Rising and Philosophy: Break the Chains!. Vol. 104. Open Court, 2016.
Clothier Jan. “Red Rising.” Collected Magazine 18 (2016): 25-26.
https://www.thebrothersepps.com/post/red-rising-analysis-pt-1-identity#:~:text=Analysis%20Part%201%3A%20Darrow’s%20Identity,journey%20is%20the%20Society%20itself.
https://www.quillofthephoenixrider.com/the-library/the-deification-of-humanity-an-analysis-of-the-red-rising-saga-part-one
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-red-rising/quotes.html
Appendix
Red Rising is a fictional novel written by Pierce Brown, which revolves around 700 years back when human beings have left the earth and colonized the rest of the solar system. The society under this work is fed with a lie and a misconception that some people are better and superior to others by their birthright. This particular work is based on Mars, and humans are already split into fourteen distinct clans and the overall leader on the planet, a superior creature of a clan called gold. The main protagonist, Darrow, belongs to a color called red. Together with other members of their clan called Lambdas and another clan called Gammas, he works in the bowels of this planet as miners to extract helium 3. The two clans are considered to be the least superior, which is why they are subjected to manual work. Darrow is a hardworking fellow in their mining job, and he always strives to make his team win over Gammas at the end of every day to win a coveted Laurel. However, they are never announced as winners because they are considered to be less superior to Gammas despite all of them being reds. Darrow lost his dad at the age of eight after execution for rebelling against the laws of the land. Darrow is committed to their work, and he is obedient until his girlfriend is killed for singing a forbidden song. The ArchGovernor of Mars initiates the execution of his girlfriend Eo called Nero au Augustus. Darrow joins a rebel group, called Sons of Aries, and they vow to jointly end the social injustices led by the Golds and their tyranny.
Darrow has to undergo a sought of plastic surgery to look like a descendant of the gold clan. This process is guided by a person called Dancer, who is the leader of the rebel group. The Dancer takes Darrow to a carver named Mickey, who is supposed to turn Darrow into gold and resemble the ruling class. Darrow is surgically reconstructed in his mental and physical being to make him exactly like how gold is. He is taught how to walk, think, act, and talk like gold, and he is later taken to an institute called elite that is known for making leaders. The institution has several rites of passage, and Darrow passes the first one by killing Julian, a brother to his friend called Cassius, although, during the murder, they were not friends. This makes Darrow be assigned to a house called Mars, and they must conquer their rival house to emerge victoriously and proceed to the next stage of becoming leaders on the planet. There is a conflict in house mars, and Darrow seeks cooperation from Cassius to win the battle. Darrow also allies with a lady called Mustang, a leader of a house known as Minerva, and they are now able to defeat Titus, who is a faction leader of house mars. Darrow reclaims the leadership of house mars. The leader of the house Pluto called Jackal reveals to Cassius that Darrow killed his brother, and Cassius in revenge critically harms Darrow and leaves him to die. Mustang comes for Darrow’s rescue, and they jointly combine the forces of runways, forming a strong army.
Darrow manages to conquer everyone in the institute, forcing Jackal to escape. Later it is revealed to Darrow that Jackal was ArchGovernor’s son and that Jackal has been receiving help from Proctors in the institute to win the battle of the houses. Darrow angrily storms the fortress of Proctors, and he kills Proctor Apollo while capturing the rest. In yet another twist, Mustang is a twin sister to Jackal, which means she is a daughter to the ArchGovernor. Mustang does not betray Darrow despite having her brother as a close competitor. The ArchGovernor arrives at the battlefield, and he pleads with Darrow to become his surrogate son with a promise of being appointed to a very high position in the government. Darrow accepts the offer despite all the pain the Archgovernor inflicted on his father, girlfriend, and fellow clan members.