Year: 2013-2014
Professor: Walter Rybarckewicz
Class: INGL 4920
University: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus
“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” novel takes place in present
everyday New York filled with heavy traffic, fumes and crowds the city is so
used to. The main characters of the novel are Jace Wayland, a cocky
heart-breaker whose past child abuse turned him into someone who doesn’t trust
nor feels easily; Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, a pair of dark-hair brothers
highly skilled in fighting with weapons; Simon Lewis, a geeky soft-hearted boy
who doesn’t let his hope down on drastic situations; and the main character,
Clarissa Fray, a petite-size, redhead who has the heart of a lion, even if she
cannot do much of physical defense.
The story opens with Clary and Simon on their way to a club where she
witnesses a murder of one of the boys from the place. However, it is only then
she realizes no one else can see the three killers except for herself. Keeping
the secret for others to not believe she has lost her sanity, she starts seeing
one of the boys responsible for the murder and begins to feel anxious and
unsafe. When the boy finally talks with her, she is explained the killed boy
was a demon who wanted to feed on mundanes-who are humans with no exceptional
power-and as a shadowhunter-an instrument of good and order in the hidden
supernatural world-needed to destroy him. Shortly after this encounter, Clary’s
mother gets kidnapped, leaving no logical explanation for her about why. It is
then that her journey starts with her best friend and the three newly-found
shadowhunters to find her mother and an explanation to all the problems that
have been appearing ever since.
During the course of the story, Clary finds out about the Mortal Cup, a
device who her mother’s kidnapper wants and was hidden in a place no one knows.
The climax of the story comes out when she figures that the cup is hidden in a
drawing her mother made and sealed with magic. The end of the novels shows the
finding of her mother in an unexplained coma state, the realization that her mother’s
kidnapper is her father and her love interest is her newfound lost brother.
The end of the book was a little frustrating because the main goal of
the character was finding her mother, but now that she found her in a coma
state, a whole new adventure opens up for another part of the story. I wasn’t
expecting the ending as it was but it was an enjoyable read.
The narrator is an omnipresent being who gets into a character’s head
and explains the thoughts and the scenery of the situation. Even if the narrator
doesn’t really identify as any character, we see the thoughts of them
dominating the points of view.
The work is written in prose and is an easy, believable read due to an
everyday speech used. The cruel honesty and the sarcasm used give the feeling
of the recent way of talking among teens.
Some of the metonymies I can remember are the references to Idirs is
usually referred to be the place where shadowhunters belong; their birth place.
Also, besides the mundanes, the term Downworlders are the creatures who have a
demonish quality to them, whether a vampire, a werewolf, a witch, a faerie or
any other kind that is constantly portrayed as evil. Some of the symbols are
the Tarot cards and coffee reading, which explain to the characters the wanting
of the impossible. We later find out that the whole romance part of the story
gets its hopes shattered when the whole realization of Jace and Clarissa being
siblings.
The work has a mixture of humor and suspense, making it a better read;
even if the book is pretty slow paced.
The message of the story was to keep your hopes and determination on the
same page and to reach the goal you want. It also describes a strong female
character and not a damsel in distress as a main character.
The story was not as predictable as I believed it would have been.
Considering this is a Young-Adult novel and was expecting more of a teenage
girl drama, however I got pleasant plot twists here and there and not much of a
“cheesy” atmosphere. Making it more focused on storyline and character
development.
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