Essay Questions

What is the significance of Tessa changing her name back?

When in the custody of Dr. Hatch, he changed her name from Tessa to Tesla (because of the famous electrical scientist). By changing her name back, not only does she get out of a terrible situation where she had a famous male name, but she also takes a symbolic stand against Hatch and her past life with him. Since she can't really remember her family, which was brainwashed out of her by the Elgen, she's really turning her back on her whole past and rewriting her identity. The name change is a remarkable step in doing so.

Which is a more appropriate metaphor for Hatch's philosophical vision: the allegory of the eagles and chickens, or the Biblical prophetic imagery of the beast and the dragon? Why?

The allegory of the eagles and chickens seems to be a straightforward explanation of Hatch's worldview, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't hold up as well as that the beast and dragon. In the eagle/chicken metaphor, the electric children deserve to rule over the chickens because of their intrinsic strength and worth. It is a purely philosophical argument that gives no consideration to the acquisition of power as an end goal, or to the value of Hatch as a leader.

The allegory of the beast and the dragon, however, seems to more aptly fit Hatch's holistic philosophical vision. The dragon (Hatch) gives power and authority to the beast (the children), who then acquire power and rule over humanity. In this metaphor, domination is the end goal, which aligns more closely with Hatch's actions. It also gives Hatch the position of honor in the new society, having essentially made the beast what it is. Being at his core an essentially selfish man, Hatch never wants the Glows to escape his control, especially when he can receive power and honor for having them under his command.

Analyze Michael's transition to merely knocking people out to killing them in this novel. Is it realistic?

Up until this point, Michael has avoided killing people (except perhaps accidentally when his powers go out of control). When the soldiers take them captive in the field with the turrets, however, he pushes the button to fire the guns, killing all the enemy men at the scene. One might expect him to have a severely negative reaction to willfully taking so much life, especially given his moral character. On the contrary, however, he makes no mention of his actions, only comforts Tessa, who is traumatized. Before they leave the scene, he even comes up with a devious plan to set the turrets at a delay so as to kill as many Elgen as possible when they come looking for them.

In the end, after the Electroclan blows up the Ampere, Michael has a moment of regret at having sent an entire shipful of people to their deaths. Taylor empathizes, and then they forget it. That is the extent of the regret that Michael feels at having killed so many men. This shift in character and regard for life might be seen as a bit jarring and unrealistic; he probably should have had some sort of crisis at seeing several men get shot dead around him. The fact that he pulled the trigger makes it even less realistic.