Adventures

Authors Note:

I wrote this piece to illustrate the major themes in the book Palace of Mirrors. If you are planing on reading this book in the future I just want to let you know that I did talk about part of the ending. I hope you enjoy!

Can you imagine having to stay inside your neighborhood your whole life? Can you imagine having to stay hidden and unseen by anyone outside of your tiny town? Can you imagine knowing that something big is out there for you to get but you’re not allowed to get it?  This is exactly how Cecilia felt her whole life when she was stuck in her town and knew that the palace was waiting for her to come out of hiding and take her place on the throne. Throughout  the book Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix it is apparent that during many scenarios courage and the ability to compromise is portrayed as a major theme in this story, as well as other stories found across the world.

If you want to have fun in life, take risks, and make your life full of adventures you’re going to need to have courage. The moment Cecilia said “Maybe… Maybe I should stop hiding,” was the moment it all changed for her. That was when I could tell how much courage was needed for Cecilia and Harper to run away from their moms and their safe town to go to the palace. They needed to have courage to face the cold, dark, danger filled outside world when they ran away in order to go on their life changing and fun filled journey to find their true calling in life.

After Cecilia got the courage to take a risk in life and go out to find her true calling, she realized she was going to need certain other skills to survive on her journey. The ability to compromise is an important attribute to have. It is apparent that Cecilia has that ability throughout her journey in the book Palace of Mirrors. After Cecilia arrived she was ready to take the throne as her own but she soon found out about the other 12 girls. All the other girls were hidden away in the palace and each of them claimed to be the true princess. After  they got the matter sorted out one palace guard smartly said “ Now we have 13 girls who all want the same throne, but yet none of them deserve it.” Luckily they soon found a compromise that used all 13 princesses to make the palace run smoothly, happily, and efficiently by using each one of the princesses’ different skills.

These themes like the courage Cecilia had to and the ability to compromise with the other 12 princesses are found in thousands of books across the world. One example is the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In The Hunger Games there is a girl named Katniss who lives in a poor district on the outskirts of town but the capitol wants to control everyone, even if they are poor. So every year the capitol requires one girl and one guy from each district to sacrifice their lives and compete in the hunger games. When Katniss’s younger sister gets chosen Katniss shows great courage and love and volunteers to not only  take her sisters spot but to save her sisters life. Katniss show great ability to compromise when she has to collaborate with the boy that got chosen for her district, Peeta, towards the end of the hunger games Peeta was her last hope of surviving and Katniss was his last hope of surviving and even though they didn't like each other they both had to compromise if they wanted to survive.

It is apparent that courage and ability to compromise is a major theme in this story, as well as other stories found around the world. Everyone in this world wants to be happy and enjoy life, but it’s hard to enjoy life just sitting on the couch in their house, that’s why it's important to have courage and be able to compromise along the way. If Cecilia had never taken those steps outside her town and decided to put her fate in her own hands she would have never ended up where she did. If she just stayed in her town all her life she would have never been able to change the palace’s history, or meet any of the other 12 princesses. If you always stick to the status quo you're never going to find your true purpose in life.