Individual Choice Under Authority

The novel raises important questions regarding free will and an individual’s ability to act according to their own ethical code under authoritative rule. From the very beginning, June feels that she is forced into the Patriots because of her personal debt to Day. She thinks that Day’s life depends on her compliance with Razor’s assassination plan, and she feels obligated to protect him for the role she played in his family’s death. She thinks that she is “the reason Day lost everything that matters to him” (266), and her guilt dictates her actions, even when she believes assassinating Anden is unethical. While she justifies her own choices, however, she questions those of the people around her.

June questions Thomas’s motives in killing Metias, and demands accountability from him. Thomas acts according to his orders, regardless of how harmful he...