Mortal Engines Literary Elements

Steampunk

It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where cities have become mobile and consume other cities to become larger and more powerful. The novel begins in London, England.

It is told from a third-person limited point of view with the narrator following the protagonist, Tom Natsworthy.

The tone is adventurous and thrilling, with an underlying current of danger and suspense. The mood is exciting and unpredictable.

Protagonist: Tom Natsworthy Antagonist: Thaddeus Valentine

The main conflict is the struggle between the Traction Cities and the Anti-Traction League, which consists of static settlements that oppose mobile cities. This conflict has been a part of the world since ancient times, as both sides have their own beliefs about how to live and use the planet's resources. The Traction Cities believe in consuming and using resources for their benefit, whereas the Anti-Traction League believes in preserving resources and not destroying them. As tensions between these two rival factions increase, it leads to all-out war and threatens to tear apart the entire world.

The climax is when Katherine, Hester, and Tom manage to stop MEDUSA from obliterating the Anti-Traction League's base. In a heroic last act, Katherine jumps in front of Valentine as he attempts to kill Hester and is fatally wounded.

The foreshadowing in the opening passage is that London has been hiding for the past ten years, and now they are taking their city back into the Great Hunting Ground. This hints at a possible conflict with other cities in the future.

The aviatrix's understatement of "It starved" to describe the devastating destruction of Motoropolis is an example of understatement.

The narrative alludes to the atomic bombings similar to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The author uses the phrase "orbit-to-earth atomics" to evoke the image of atomic bombs being dropped.

“A hundred miles ahead the sunrise shone on Circle Park, the elegant loop of lawns and flower beds that encircled Tier One. It gleamed in ornamental lakes and on pathways glistening with dew, and it glittered on the white metal spires of Clio House, Valentine's villa, which stood among dark cedars at the park's edge like some gigantic conch shell abandoned by a freak high tide.”

The future is both familiar and yet strange. The people of this future world have adapted to an ever-changing and nomadic lifestyle, living in giant mobile cities that roam the wastelands of what was once known as Europe. Despite their advanced technology and way of life, the people still retain some aspects of the past such as warfare and traditional governments.

The character of Tom Natsworthy, an apprentice historian from London, is contrasted to Hester Shaw, a fugitive from the same city who has been scarred by her traumatic past. This parallelism serves to highlight the differences between them and their respective journeys throughout the novel.

The phrase "feeding frenzy" is used as a metonymy to refer to the scavengers tearing apart Motoropolis.

The traction cities are often personified as they have the ability to feed on other cities.