To Sleep In a Sea of Stars Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

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Written by Elizabeth Shaw

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

This book was written after years of Paolini writing The Inheritance Cycle series. After this, he felt that he creatively needed to try something new. As such, this book symbolizes the author's venture into sci-fi and a new kind of adventure novel.

Implants

In this novel, people don't have phones, and instead have implants. This represents Paolini's attention to detail and his convincing vision of the world in 2257.

Navárez's sacrifice

Navárez is committed to her career and dedicated to finding life forms in space. However, the consequences of this are devastating, showing the sacrifice people must sometimes make in committing to a career or cause.

Soft blade

Soft blade represents the threat of getting involved with other life forms. The humans in this novel can't begin to understand the threat they are faced with, which represents the danger of humanity transgressing into the unknown.

Technology

Technology is a key motif of this text and is something that Paolini researched for many years. It is incredibly believable that this novel is set in 2257, due to the convincing use of technology, which affects every area of life.

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